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Michael Olise scored and also provided an assist as France came from a goal down to beat Egypt 3-1 after extra time and reach the men’s final at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice as France reached its first Olympic men’s football final since Los Angeles 1984.
While Egypt will face fellow North African Morocco in the bronze medal match, France will face Spain in the final.
The last time an African team won a medal in the Olympic men’s football event was Nigeria’s under-23 team, who took bronze at the 2016 Rio Games.
The match began with cautious play from both sides. Egypt had a golden opportunity in the second minute when Ibrahim Adel’s volley went just wide.
Throughout the first half, both teams exchanged chances and Egyptian goalkeeper Hamza Alaa made crucial saves to keep the game goalless.
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France came close in the 41st minute but Loïc Badé’s header was saved by the post before the referee blew the final whistle for the first half.
In the second half, Egypt surprisingly took the lead. In the 62nd minute, Mahmoud Saber intercepted the ball in the box and fired into the back of the net, putting the Young Pharaohs ahead 1-0.
However, France pressed hard for an equaliser and Jean-Philippe Mateta found the back of the net in the 83rd minute from an assist from Olise.
Regulation time ended in a 1-1 draw, leading to a tense extra time. Early in the extra period, Omar Fayed was shown a red card for a second caution, leaving Egypt with ten men.
France took advantage of this and Mateta scored his second goal in the 99th minute, heading in from close range to give France a 2-1 lead.
Despite being outnumbered, Egypt continued to fight. However, in the 108th minute, Olise sealed the victory for France with a well-placed shot.
