Michael Olise and his French teammates are through to the final of men’s football at the summer Olympics. They will be playing in the gold medal match after claiming a 3-1 win over Egypt in the semifinals, thanks in no small part to Olise himself.
Olise once again started in the number 10 role for France as Thierry Henry decided to stick with his tried and tested diamond formation.
The hosts fell behind after 62 minutes, courtesy of a Mahmoud Saber goal and were on the verge of a shock exit in the semifinals.
France constantly looked to Olise for inspiration. He had five shots, created five. chances, one big chance and had two accurate crosses. He had a good chance late on, but his effort was tame and straight at the keeper.
However, he redeemed himself minutes later. Olise slipped through former Crystal Palace team-mate Jean-Phillipe Mateta, who smashed the ball into the back of the net when bearing down on goal.
It was the exact same combination that won them the game vs Argentina in the quarterfinals last week.
The two sides could not be separated after 90 minutes, and into extra-time they went. Just minutes into extra-time, Omar Fayed was sent off for a second bookable offence and France were seriously in the ascendancy.
On the 99th minute mark, Olise delivered a sublime, trademark, inswinging cross, finding Kiliann Sildilla who headed across goal for Mateta to get his and France’s second goal of the game.
After 108 minutes, the ball fell to Olise inside the box and he swept home with a composed finish to seal the victory. The €60 million Bayern Munich signing is in red-hot form for his country ahead of the start of the Bundesliga season.
Les Blues will now showdown with Spain in the final at the Parc Des Princes on Friday for the chance at a gold medal. Spain defeated Morocco 2-1 earlier in the day.
France have only ever won gold once in Olympic football - the Los Angeles 1984 edition. So there is a chance for Olise to become one of very few footballers to win a gold medal with France at the Olympics.
The fact that it is on home soil adds to how special it is, and Olise and his counterparts have a shot at history.
After this game, the 22-year old will head to Bayern Munich and link up with the rest of the squad to prepare for the start of the Bundesliga season. Hopefully, he will join up with his new team-mates on a high after winning a gold medal.