Olympics football: Four Players To Watch In The Final Between France And Spain

While some of the sport’s biggest stars may be absent from the Olympic men’s football tournament, others have emerged to make their mark over the past two weeks.

Sportxparte picks out four key players to follow in Friday’s final between hosts France and Spain:

Jean-Philippe Mateta

France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta

The formidable 27-year-old Crystal Palace striker 16 goals in the Premier League last season with an impressive 14 of those coming in his final 16 appearances. Despite such remarkable numbers, he was unlikely to receive a call-up to the full France squad for Euro 2024.

However, coach Thierry Henry selected him to spearhead the Olympic tea nm,  and Mateta has made a significant impact.

Mateta’s impressive tally of four goals was surpassed only by Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi, who has scored six. All of Mateta’s goals come in the last three matches, including one in the 3-0 victory over New Zealand in the final group.

He then scored the decisive goal with a fantastic near-post header from a corner in the quarter-final against Argentina, followed by a vital brace in the semi-final against Egypt, helping France come from behind to secure a 3-1 win after extra time.

Fermin Lopez

Spain’s midfielder Fermin Lopez in Olympics

In the past year, 21-year-old Barcelona midfielder, Lopez has experienced a remarkable ascent to prominence. He has solidified his position as a regular for the club, scoring 11 goals in 42 appearances, including one in a El Clasico match against Real Madrid.

Lopez then made the Spain squad for Euro 2024 and made one appearance on their run to glory in Germany. He came straight from there to the Olympics where he started all of Spain’s matches except a defeat by Egypt in their final group game when qualification for the knockout stage had already been secured.

Lopez, a native of Andalusia, has contributed four goals to Spain’s journey to the final, highlighted by a spectacular brace in the quarter-final against Japan and the equal in the semi-final against Morocco. He also assisted Juanlu Sanchez’s winning goal in that match.

For France to secure gold on Friday, they will need to devise a strategy to contain him.

Michael Olise

Michael Olise in action for France in the Olympics

It will surely not be long before Olise is called up by Didier Deschamps to the full French national squad. He has been a constant menace for opponents on the right wing for France at the Olympics, from where he has scored two goals including the killer third in the semi-final against Egypt.

He also set up the equalizer in that game with an explosive run from deep.

Olise arrived at the Olympics shortly after making a move to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace for a reported fee of 60 million euros ($65.6 million). This came on the heels of his impressive performance last season, where scored 10 goals in 19 Premier League matches.

Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise

A former member of the Chelsea and Manchester City academies, Olise was born and brought up in London to a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother.

Pau Cubarsi

Barcelona’s youngster Pau Cubarsi representing Spain in the Olympics

His Barcelona teammate, Lamine Yamal was a standout performer at Euro 2024, having just turned 17 on the eve of Spain’s final victory against England. Centre-back, Cubarsi, who celebrated his 17th birthday in January, is just a few older but is the youngest player in Spain’s Olympic squad selected by coach Santi Denia.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez

A revelation for Barcelona last season, Cubarsi just missed out on a place in Spain’s squad at the Euros but has been a regular at the Olympics in central defense and will have a key role to play up against the French attack of Mateta, Olise and veteran captain, Alexandre Lacazette.

France’s strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Jean-Philippe Mateta