Following a fiery win in the last eight, hosts France aim to take one step closer to gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics, as they meet Egypt in Monday's second semi-final.
While Les Bleus edged past bitter foes Argentina in Bordeaux, the Pharaohs had to find a late equaliser before knocking Paraguay out in the quarter-finals.
Match preview
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In a repeat of the most recent World Cup final, France and Argentina resumed battle on Friday, when the two teams clashed in Bordeaux for the right to reach the semi-finals of Paris 2024.
A hostile contest was decided by Jean-Philippe Mateta's early header, as the Crystal Palace striker linked up with former clubmate Michael Olise to unlock the Albiceleste's defence; France also had a late goal ruled out by the VAR, but they still emerged with a much-cherished win.
Scuffles broke out all over the pitch following the final whistle, with head coach Thierry Henry celebrating passionately before taking on the role of peace-maker, as his thoughts turned back to securing a place on the top step of the podium.
France last won Olympic gold in men's football back in 1984, and after finally winning their country's first knockout match at the Games since then, Henry's young squad are intent on joining the French medal rush on Friday.
Victory in Lyon would guarantee at least silver for Les Bleus, who won all of their group matches while scoring seven goals and keeping three clean sheets.
Yet to concede a single goal at the tournament, France can now set up a decider with either Morocco or Spain by winning again on Monday evening, but their next opponents have already proven capable of causing an upset this summer.
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Egypt reached the Olympic Games football semi-finals for the first time in their history with a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Paraguay, and their quest for a ground-breaking medal continues.
Despite being drawn alongside Spain, who they beat 2-1 in Bordeaux, the Pharaohs had topped Group C to reach the knockout phase.
On that occasion, Ibrahim Adel scored twice to shock a much-changed Spanish side, and he repeated his heroics at Parc des Princes to produce an 88th-minute equaliser against Paraguay and send the tie into extra-time.
After 30 goalless minutes, Adel then converted the winning spot kick in a shootout, putting his nation within one win of a guaranteed medal, which was a distant dream when they kicked off their campaign with a frustrating 0-0 draw against the Dominican Republic.
Having subsequently seen off Uzbekistan and Spain, Rogerio Micale's men have built momentum throughout the tournament, already beating Egypt's performance at Tokyo 2020, when they lost in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Brazil.
They qualified for Paris 2024 by finishing runners-up to Morocco at the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations, and a potential re-match in an all-African final could take place on Friday - but first the inspired hosts stand in their way.
Team News
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After Thierry Henry made changes for his team's final group game, France were naturally back at full strength in the quarter-final, when captain Alexandre Lacazette and chief creator Michael Olise returned to support attacking spearhead Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Les Bleus are set to field a similar lineup on Monday, with teenage goalkeeper Guillaume Restes starting behind a back four that has kept four straight clean sheets so far.
Joining Lacazette and Mateta as the overage players in an otherwise Under-23 squad, Sevilla's Loic Bade features alongside Castello Lukeba in central defence.
Manu Kone runs matters in midfield, where Enzo Millot will be missing due to suspension, following his post-match red card against Argentina.
Egypt, meanwhile, should also select a familiar XI for their first Olympic semi-final in 60 years, despite playing 120 minutes in sapping conditions last time out.
Osama Faisal and Zamalek winger Ahmed Sayed - also known as Zizo - will link up with Ibrahim Adel in the final third: the latter starred in the Pharaohs' most recent Under-23 AFCON campaign and is their top scorer at Paris 2024.
Now representing Al-Jazira in the United Arab Emirates, captain Mohamed Elneny starts in midfield, along with Mohamed Shehata and Ahmed Kouka.
France possible starting lineup:
Restes; Sildillia, Bade, Lukeba, Truffert; Akliouche, Kone, Chotard; Olise; Lacazette, Mateta
Egypt possible starting lineup:
Alaa; Fayed, Abdelmeguid, Eid, El-Debes; Elneny; Shehata, Kouka; Zizo, Faisal, Adel
We say: France 2-0 Egypt
An unbeaten defence and an aggressive attack make the host nation a tough nut to crack, so France should take care of business against a fatigued Egypt team.
After being taken to extra time in the quarter-finals, the Pharaohs may falter - and Les Bleus are well-equipped to capitalise.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a France Under-23s win with a probability of 57.57%. A draw had a probability of 24.9% and a win for Egypt Under-23s had a probability of 17.52%.
The most likely scoreline for a France Under-23s win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.18%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.15%) and 2-1 (9.17%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.46%), while for a Egypt Under-23s win it was 0-1 (7.16%).
Jonathan O'Shea
