There will be no home gold for France’s male footballers at Paris 2024, as instead Spain produced a first-half performance of great incision, a second half of constant defence, then claimed a 5-3 extra-time win with a wonderful double by Sergio Camello at Parc des Princes.
This was a genuinely astonishing final, an eight-goal, 120-minute see-saw thriller, decorated with brilliant strikes, misses, saves, comebacks, and a mind-blowing added-time VAR-assisted equaliser for the hosts. France will feel unlucky not to have made a long spell of sustained pressure tell. The greatest compliment for this Spanish performance was that it was in its best moments just very Spanish.
At the end of which Spain’s male footballers have now achieved something astonishing this summer, reeling off three titles in four weeks using three almost entirely separate teams. An Olympic gold medal here follows victory against France again in the final of the Uefa Under-19 tournament and victory at Euro 2024 in Germany. Those three titles can now and sit alongside the women’s World Cup win last year. It is a startling run of success for everyone involved in the development and coaching of Spanish football.
Part of the blueprint is the fact every one of those teams has essentially played, if not the same way, then with the same attributes: high technique, tactical awareness and above all the ability to see and make up and manage the game in front of them. Game intelligence has been the defining quality of Spain’s summer of love, as opposed to some oppressive one-size tactical system.
As this game ran deep into the second half, Spain already 3-1 up there was the fascinating sight of six Spanish substitutes, basically another bunch of hyper-skilled young guys, not so much warming up as watching, chatting, pointing at the game, following every move. There is a great deal the English game could learn from this. Plus ça change.
The Parc des Princes was packed for this final, the Paris Saint-Germain ultras end a noticeably calmer environment than the usual pyro plus three-hour shirts-off knees-up. The pre-match ceremonials were an enjoyable ragbag.
First there was a truly inane pre-match show that featured two men with very, very loud mics shouting tunelessly at the crowd, who ignored them and hoped they would stop, before seizing gratefully on a chance to sing along to Champs-Élysées, the de facto anthem of the Games.
Miles, miles better, there was a live performance of Freed from Desire by the Actual Gala, an oddly moving moment for anyone who has seen this same modern terrace classic sung by so many stands full of drunken people, like finally seeing an actual Warhol. Gala was great. She danced. She went easy on the “Na Na Na Na Na Na-Na” bit. Hopefully this will turbo charge her downloads, Celine Dion-style.
Arsène Wenger came out and did the stick-banging ceremony to declare this final open, still looking perfectly trim and jaunty and lean. At which point the game kicked off and nothing happened for 11 minutes. Really, nothing at all.
Then suddenly everything happened, four goals in 17 minutes, three of them to Spain. France scored first. It was a messy goal. Álex Baena scuffed his clearance close to the goal line. Enzo Millot took the ball and shot early, but Arnau Tenas will be hugely disappointed with his effort to keep it out of the Spain net. It went through his hands. Spain’s goalkeeper is 23 and plays for Paris Saint-Germain. It was a deeply forgettable moment for him. But he would make up for it just on half-time with a wonderful one-handed save from Jean-Philippe Mateta.
And six minutes later Spain were level via a brilliantly worked and very Spanish goal, Fermín López side-footing into the corner for his fifth of the tournament after an extended period of slick and purposeful possession. They were 2-1 up shortly after with another well-made goal, this time created by a driven cross from the left by Juan Miranda with López in the right place to tap it in.
Spain’s third, on 28 minutes, was sensational. It came from a right-footed free-kick from the edge of the area, significantly to the left. Baena stepped back and floated the most delightfully delicate shot into the corner, Guillaume Restes static on his line, the kind of misdirection that makes a free-kick goal look so much more lovely.
France have a stronger team on paper, arguably. But Spain just played like Spain in that first half, reeling off another exhibition of pure uncut Spain. The home crowd booed the referees off at half-time but Spain were well worth their 3-1 lead.
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Thierry Henry brought on fresh legs shortly after the break, sending out Arnaud Kalimuendo in place of the largely invisible Alexandre Lacazette, and he hit the bar with a header just before the hour, the closest France got to pulling back a goal in that period. Les Bleus Olympiques were more patient on the ball, slicker through midfield, with Manu Koné an orderly influence.
France began to make, if not chances, then chance-adjacent opportunities. Spain defended with skill and discipline, looking by now a little tired at the end of an intense and sappingly hot three weeks. Tenas made one astonishing right-handed save low down.
Spain had very little control from half time onwards. France pressed, kept the ball, made chances, forced last-minute interceptions.
And with 12 minutes to go they finally pulled one back, deservedly, as Michael Olise’s low free kick was deflected in by Maghnes Akliouche. The final moments were gripping as France poured everything they had into chasing an equaliser. Henry can be proud of his team’s spirit.
At which point, France’s hopes of gold were preserved by a moment of incredible drama at the very last as they were awarded a penalty after a VAR check. It came from a grapple at the back post during a corner. Whether it was correct or not will depend on your opinion of such moments (needs stamping out v happens all the time). The replay showed poor old Miranda, who had a miserable second half, in a wrestle with Kalimuendo. The referee, Ramon Abatti, performed an extraordinary exhibitionist’s strut back from his monitor, paused, then pointed to the spot like a man identifying the killer at the end of a particularly dramatic murder mystery.
Mateta buried it to make it 3-3 in the third minute of extra time. The Parc erupted. France had shown such heart to bring it back to 3-3 and deserved to take this final deep.
But it was Spain, for so long doggedly on the defensive, who produced the moment of incision on 99 minutes to make it 4-3. Again the goal came from a long spell of possession as they were finally able to get hold of the ball. The acceleration came with a wonderful little nudged reverse pass from Sergio Gomez into the cute diagonal run of Camello. France were sleeping, just enough. The finish was delightful, dinked over the advancing goalkeeper. Spain held on to take Olympic gold, their first in this event since 1992, the game ending in surreal fashion as Camello scored a second, awarded on the final whistle after a VAR check.