Morocco and Egypt will meet at Paris 2024 to battle for an Olympic bronze in a surprising twist that came out of their nail-biting semi-final round encounters.
The French-born Nigerian star, Michael Olise, had earlier paved the way to the final with the winner that came in the second half of extra time. It was a fortunate moment for Olise, capitalizing on a ball that ricocheted off Doue to tuck home their third goal in a 3-1 win.
In an earlier match, Spain had pipped Morocco in a closely contested semi-final in Marseille; Earlier, Morocco had taken on the upper foot, the lead from the penalty spot by Soufiane Rahimi, his sixth goal in the tournament. Fans of Morrocco at Stade Velodrome went up on their feet as the lead was theirs now.
Fermin Lopez scored an equalizer for Spain in the 66th minute. Lopez, who had troubled the Spanish defense and had also been on the scoresheet in the quarter-final victory against Japan, intercepted a loose ball in the box and fired low into the net. What seemed to be a well-balanced game set for extra time instead saw Lopez then turn provider, setting up Juanlu Sanchez to confirm a 2-1 win.
Having emerged the victor in the all-North African clash, Morocco was due to take on Egypt on Thursday in Nantes in a play-off for the bronze medal.
