superwin636 France struggled to extra time to beat Egypt 3-1 to advance to the 2024 Olympic gold medal final, where they will face Spain. superwin636

France almost took the lead after four minutes when Lloris Chotar chipped in to Adrien Truffer, who chested it down and turned to shoot with his right foot, but Hamza Ala made a superb save.

The hosts had another chance in the 12th minute when Jean-Philippe Mateta headed home from inside the penalty area. ( superwin636  )

 But it was a bit too thin, causing the ball to not go into the frame.

Egypt hit back two minutes later when Ibrahim Adel crossed from the left and Ahmed Sayed “Ziso” aimed a powerful shot but it went straight to Guiaume Restes who caught it and stuck it in his pocket. 

France almost took the lead in the 26th minute when Lloris Chotar crossed from the left to Michael Olise, who fired a powerful shot just outside the penalty area, but it went wide of the post.

At the end of the first half, the French missed another chance to take the lead. Lloris Chotar took a corner kick for Loik Bade to head the ball, which hit the post. Alexandre Lacazette got the second chance before heading it to Castello Lukeba, who turned and shot, but it went wide again. The first half ended in a 0-0 draw.

France started the second half with two chances from Michael Olise’s long-range shot in the 52nd minute that was saved and another when Alexandre Lacazette shot with his left foot from the edge of the penalty area but it was not on target. 

However, it was Egypt who took the lead 1-0 in the 62nd minute when Mohamed Shehata passed the ball to Mahmoud Saber whose first shot in the penalty area was blocked but he followed up with a right-footed shot past Guiaume Restes and into the net.

France should have had the upper hand in the 75th minute when Lacazette headed the ball down and it bounced off the post. Magnes Agliouche followed up with a cross from the left for Bade to head the ball in from close range but it hit the crossbar again. Incredibly, Egypt survived.

In the 83rd minute, the stadium erupted with cheers as France successfully equalized 1-1. Michael Olise passed the ball through the defense to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who sped into the penalty area and shot with his right foot past Ala and into the net. No more goals were scored, leading to another 30 minutes of extra time.

Two minutes into extra time, Egypt were reduced to 10 men when Omar Fayed received a second yellow card for a foul on Desire Doue and had to leave the pitch.

France took a 2-1 lead in the 99th minute from a corner kick on the right wing, before Kylian Cidilia headed the ball to Jean-Philippe Mateta who headed it into the net. It was the second goal of the match for the Chris Palace striker. 

The hosts scored a goal to make it 3-1 in the 108th minute when Egypt’s Mohamed Shehata’s poor clearance hit Desiree Due before the ball bounced to Michael Olise, who fired a powerful left-footed shot into the box.

After 120 minutes, France defeated Egypt 3-1 to enter the final round to compete for the gold medal against Spain, who defeated Morocco 2-1. The final round will be held on Friday, August 9. Egypt will compete for third place against Morocco on Thursday, August 8.