Spain beat France 5-3 after extra-time in an epic Olympic final to claim the gold medal in Paris.
Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta had dramatically pulled Thierry Henry’s France level with a last-gasp penalty in normal time as the hosts battled back from 3-1 down to force an added 30 minutes at Parc des Princes.
But Spain super sub Sergio Camello struck twice in extra-time to deliver more glory for his country on the back of the Euro 2024 triumph in Germany.
It had all started so well for France, with Spain goalkeeper Arnau Tenas gifting an opener when he allowed Enzo Millot’s shot to go through his hands and into the net.
France’s Enzo Millot gave the hosts an early lead
But Spain’s response was stunning, with Fermin Lopez scoring twice and Alex Baena bending in a free-kick in a 10-minute blast which looked to have blown France away.
Alex Baena put Spain in complete control in the first half with a fine free-kick
Henry’s side showed great character, though, forcing Tenas into stunning saves to keep out Mateta and Manu Kone, who also headed against the bar. And that persistence eventually paid off with 11 minutes of normal time remaining when Maghnes Akliouche flicked in Michael Olise’s free-kick to ignite the atmosphere in the French capital.
France’s Jean-Philippe Mateta’s last-gasp penalty forced extra-time
And in stoppage time there was VAR drama, with ref Ramon Abatti pointing to the spot after seeing Benat Turrientes wrestle Arnaud Kalimuendo to the floor at a corner. Mateta kept his composure to level the match.
There was still time for Turrientes to hit the bar but in the end Spain’s savvy prevailed in extra-time, with the Tokyo silver medallists soaking up French pressure before a classy pass from Adrian Bernabe rolled Camello in to put his side back in front before a breakaway wrapped up a first Olympic title for Spain since their home 1992 Barcelona Games.
Henry and Denia react to dramatic Spain win
France coach Thierry Henry regretted that his side allowed Spain back in to the game after claiming an early lead.
“There were a few minutes during the first half in which we disappeared and we paid a high price for that,” he 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 manager Santi Denia lauded the resilience of his side after the hard-fought victory.
“Such a long-suffering match deserved tears of joy. They have worked for 40 days as a family,” he told Spanish broadcaster TVE.
“It was very evenly matched. France push you back, they play very well. It’s down to small details that we won the match. We also did it with a lot of spirit.”
Camello had feared for his place in the Spanish squad ahead of the tournament, but he was the hero as they won gold.
“I want to thank the entire team. I was in theory one of the four people to get left off the squad list,” the forward told Spanish national broadcaster TVE.
“Me scoring those goals, it’s thanks to my team-mates 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.”
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