France 3-1 Egypt (aet): Mateta double sets up Spain meeting in Olympics final
France came from behind to beat 10-man Egypt 3-1 after extra time and reach the Olympic Games final thanks to a brace from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Mahmoud Saberâs goal looked to be sending Egypt through, but Mateta and Michael Olise ensured that would not happen with help from Omar Fayedâs sending off in extra time.
Despite Egypt slightly edging the first half, the hosts almost took the lead when Loic Badeâs header struck the foot of the post just before half-time.
On the hour mark, Alexandre Lacazette squandered a glorious chance, and just moments later Shehata profited at the other end, rifling his powerful effort into the roof of the net.
France rallied soon after, with Lacazette and Bade hitting the woodwork in quick succession before Hamza Alaa made two brilliant saves to keep out the Les Bleusâ captain.
The hostsâ pressure finally paid off in the 83rd minute though â Olise raced through midfield before picking out his former Crystal Palace team-mate Mateta, who fired them level.
A lengthy VAR check deep in second-half stoppage time then proved fruitless as the referee stuck with the onfield decision to now award a penalty to France for a handball by Omar Fayed, who received a booking for dissent.
His game then went from bad to worse as he received his marching orders two minutes into extra time for a late tackle on Desire Doue.
Mateta thumped France in front with a close-range free header seven minutes later, and Olise made sure of their progress in the 108th minute, curling a low shot past Alaa before he could react.
