Spain was crowned the men’s Olympic soccer champion for the first time since 1992 after beating host France 5-3 after extra time in an all-time great final.
Expectations were high for France going into the men’s gold medal match, but the reality of the first half was brutal for Thierry Henry’s side.
The Parc des Princes stadium – the home of French giant Paris Saint-Germain – was a sea of tricolore flags ahead of the game and spectators had high hopes for this team playing on home soil.
A lot was riding on French legend Henry, who is used to winning as a player but not as a coach.
Enzo Millot opened the scoring early for France after a goalkeeping error from Arnau Tenas, but La Roja hit back with three goals in 10 minutes through Álex Baena and Fermín López’s brace to take a 3-1 lead at half-time and stun the Parc des Princes.
But roared on by a booming home crowd in the second half, Les Espoirs fought back as Maghnes Akliouche’s flick and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s last-minute penalty made it 3-3.
But France finally came unstuck in extra time as Sergio Camello scored two brilliant chips to make it 5-3 and seal the gold medal for Spain. The Olympic title is the second ever for La Roja and the first since the 1992 Barcelona Games.
“There were a few minutes during the first half in which we disappeared and we paid a high price for that,” Henry said after the game.
“Then we were able to recover and get back in the game. It wasn’t easy to build this team up, but I’m proud of the work we did.”
Spain’s incredible international success
Spain manager Santi Denia said that the final wasn’t going to be straightforward and was proud of his squad for pulling out the win.
“These matches are always difficult. You have a very strong team like France who can sit back and defend very well, but we were able to break them,” he said. “I’m very happy because our players sacrificed a lot to be here and they deserve to win the gold medal.”
“It’s hard for me to speak,” Camello told Spanish national broadcaster TVE. “I want to thank the entire team. I was in theory one of the four people to get left off the squad list.
“Me scoring those goals, it’s thanks to my teammates for believing in me. The goalkeeper coach told me that he dreamed that I would score the goal of the final. Olympic champions. This is history, since 1992. We will value it more as time goes on. We are the happiest kids in the world.”
It caps a truly incredible couple of years for Spanish soccer. Its national teams have also won the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Euro 2024 and the 2024 Under-19 European Championship.
“What a game and what an extra time!” Spain’s Olympic tennis silver medalist Carlos Alcaraz wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Congratulations!”
Spain’s Royal Family also congratulated the team, posting on X, “32 years on, we once again touch the sky of the Olympic podium with your enormous talent, daring and teamwork. What couldn’t be in Tokyo you made happen in these Games. Thank you, CHAMPIONS!”
CNN