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| APYonhap News |
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| APYonhap News |
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The French Olympic soccer team beat Egypt to advance to the Olympic final for the first time in 40 years.
After taking charge of the U-21 and U-23 coaches, Henri was unstable in the early days of his appointment, meeting South Korea led by Hwang Sun-hong at the time in Le Havre in November last year and suffering a 0-3 defeat, but he made an amazing rebound after winning five consecutive games after the match against Korea.
He failed to participate in the competition as the best member, failing to withdraw Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) after all, but showed off his solid strength by not conceding a single goal until the semifinals. In the semi-finals, the team beat Argentina 1-0 as the favourites.
France reached the finals for the first time in 40 years after winning a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, aiming for its second gold medal in history. French soccer, which won both the FIFA World Cup (2018) and the Euro (2000) in the 2000s, is on the verge of a grand slam.
The opponent team in the gold medal match was Spain, which beat Morocco 2-1 on the same day to reach the final. Spain aims to win the gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in their own country for the first time in 32 years.
Whichever of the two teams wins, the European team's first victory in 32 years since Spain won the 1992 Barcelona Olympics has been confirmed. The past seven Olympics have been won by teams from South America, Central America, and Africa.
The final match will be held at 1 a.m. on the 10th at Parc des Princes in Paris. Parc des Princes is home to `Genius Midfielder' Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain). There is a possibility that Lee Kang-in, who is preparing for the new season, will make a surprise visit to the stadium.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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| APYonhap News |
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France, who finished 0-0 in the first half, was dragged away by giving up the first goal to Mahmoud Saber in the 17th minute of the second half. In the 38th minute of the second half, when the 0-1 trend continued, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a dramatic equalizer with a clean right footed shot in the penalty box, leading the game to extra time.
France had a numerical advantage in the second minute of the first half of extra time when opposing defender Omar Fayed was sent off due to cumulative warnings. Mateta scored an additional goal in the 9th minute of the first half of extra time, and Michael Olise, Kim Min-jae's new Bayern Munich teammate, scored a net goal in the 3rd minute of extra time to create a 3-1 upset.
When Mateta's second goal was scored, coach Henri showed his exclusive ceremony of leaning back and spreading his arms wide while looking toward the stands. He said "That's awesome. It is expected to be a difficult game against Spain, who always produce something in the final, but we want a gold medal" he said.
Henri also honored the residents there, referring to the birthplaces of himself and his parents, Leulis, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Antilles.
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| XinhuaYonhap News |
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| APYonhap News |
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Spain, which defeated Japan 3-0 in the semifinals, scored the first goal in the 37th minute to Morocco's Sufian Rahimi to finish 0-1 in the first half.
However, Fermin López, a multi-goal hero against Japan, scored an equalizer in the 21st minute of the second half to bring the game back to square one, and Juan Lu Sanchez scored a final come-from-behind goal in the 40th minute of the second half, just before the end of the game. If Spain wins this year's Olympics, it will be an accomplishment of winning both the Euros and the Olympics in the same year. Spain's A national team won Europe last month thanks to the performances of `17-year-old special' Ramin Yamal and others.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
