Paris Olympics: France seeks Euro revenge against Spain

Paris Olympics: Morocco claims bronze in U23 football, France faces Spain for gold. USA and Brazil to battle for gold in the women's event on Sunday.

Thierry Henry's France will take on Spain on Friday in the gold medal match at the ongoing Paris Olympics, who will triumph between the two football giants? (Photo credit: Khel)

The Paris Olympics are winding down with interesting tales from football events across both genders, with Morocco carting away the bronze medal on Thursday.

The U23 side of Morocco has been the most entertaining side in the tournament by a country mile, falling short late on due to experience in the final quarter of their semifinal match against Spain earlier in the week.

Morocco held a 1-0 lead for a considerable amount of time, but they conceded twice in the late stages, condemning them to the Bronze Medal match, where they faced their fellow Arab nation, Egypt. In the football event at the Paris Olympics, Egypt's U23 team showed more grit and defensive solidity than flair and flamboyance.

The Egyptians had to wait for penalties to be able to dispatch Paraguay in the quarterfinal, but they were inches away from beating the host nation, France, in the semifinal. A late Jean Phillippe Mateta strike sent the game into extra time, before the Crystal Palace striker and his former teammate Michael Olise scored one each in extra time to send France through to the Gold Medal game.

The Bronze Medal game was devastating for Egypt, as Achraf Hakimi rounded off the scoring with a sensational free kick late on to claim the third-placed medal with a comprehensive 6-0 win, the widest ever margin in a knockout phase at the Olympics.

France and Spain will contest the Gold Medal match on Friday, with everyone expecting a tough affair at the Parc des Princes, the majestic home of PSG. Thierry Henry will have the honour of winning his first-ever laurel as manager; will Spain stand in his way?

The female version of the football event at the ongoing games has also been serving interesting headlines, with reigning world champions Spain ruining Brazil’s tactics in their semifinal clash on Tuesday, a game Brazil won comfortably by a 4-2 score line.

The Brazilians defended deep and launched long balls, which the Spanish girls couldn’t deal with; while the Spaniards played more impressive football, it’s the team that got the ball over the line that gets on the scoreboard.

After regulation ended goalless, the USA beat Germany in the other semifinal with a goal in the first half of extra time. Both sides have tasted gold at the Olympics before, and it was evident in how much the game meant to them.

The bronze medal match between Germany and Spain will take place on Friday, right after the men's gold medal game, while Brazil and the USA will fight for the gold medal on Sunday to round off the football event at the games.