Spain protected the gold medal in men\u2019s football after Sergio Camello scored twice in extra time to earn a dramatic 5-3 win over hosts France in a nail-biting final at Parc des Princes on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sergio Camello collide with twice in extra time as Spain took gold in the Olympic men\u2019s football final after a 5-3 win against France on Friday. The exciting win at Parc des Princes completed a golden summer for Spanish soccer \u2014 following the senior team\u2019s European Championship triumph last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain, which lost the final to Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, turn into the first European gold medalist in men\u2019s soccer since it last won the tournament at the Barcelona Games in 1992. France came back from 3-1 down to send the game to extra time when Jean-Phillipe Mateta matched from the penalty spot in the third minute of time added on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But substitute Camello coolly lifted over France goalkeeper Guillaume Restes in the 100th and got his second in the first minute of time added on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain\u2019s win marked a personal double for Fermin Lopez and Alex Baena, who were both part of the Euro 2024-winning squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Barcelona star Lopez scored twice and Baena got Spain\u2019s other goal in a blistering 10-minute spell in the first half which gave it a 3-1 lead at the break after Enzo Millot had opened the scoring for France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the game was twisted on its head when France mounted a late fightback through Maghnes Akliouche and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who transformed a penalty in the third minute of stoppage time to send the game to extra time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dramatic peak sent the home fans wild as they chanted \u201cAlez Les Bleus\u201d and roared their team on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And while Camello\u2019s goals ultimately ended French hopes of a first gold since Los Angeles 1984 the crowd continued to cheer loudly as Coach Thierry Henry and his players showed their obligation with a lap of honour after the final whistle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a crazy final, at the end we got a medal,\u201d Henry said. \u201cUnfortunately, we are not Olympic champions but you can\u2019t take anything away from this team.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Camello\u2019s second goal, racing away from his own half before firing past Restes, sparked frenzied celebrations from the Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The forward tore off his shirt and was swamped by teammates and substitutes, who piled onto the field from the touchline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had only come as extra in the 83rd as Spain tried to protect its lead in regulation \u2014 but ended up a national hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spain\u2019s victory ended the dominance of Latin American nations for the last five editions of the Olympics. Brazil and Argentina won twice in that time, with Mexico also taking gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nigeria gained at Atlanta 1996 and Cameroon at Sydney 2000.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spain protected the gold medal in men\u2019s football after Sergio Camello scored twice in extra time to earn a dramatic 5-3 win over hosts France in a nail-biting final at Parc des Princes on Friday. Sergio Camello collide with twice in extra time as Spain took gold in the Olympic men\u2019s football final after a…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,68],"tags":[590,686,73,672,134],"class_list":["post-7067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","category-international-football","tag-2024-paris-olympic-games","tag-france","tag-slsports","tag-spain","tag-sports-news"],"yoast_head":"\n