Olympics: Akliouche, Magassa and Matsima secure silver for Thierry Henry’s France
Having progressed to the Olympic final on home soil, Thierry Henry’s France suffered a heartbreaking defeat by losing 3-5 to Spain after extra-time. This meant the trio of AS Monaco players in the squad in Maghnes Akliouche, Soungoutou Magassa and Chrislain Matsima secured silver medals.
The Match
Things were looking good early for the French, with former ASM talent Enzo Millot opening the scoring in the 11th minute to hand them the lead.
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Spain then roared into life by scoring three goals in the next 17 minutes, as two goals from Fermin Lopez and one from Alex Baena saw them shock the home team and their fans.
Entering the interval down 1-3, all was still to play for, as France were desperate to get back into the game. And it was terrific to see ASM sensation Akliouche, who came on in the 52nd minute, give his team a boost and provide them with some offensive impetus.
Dangerous in possession and causing issues for Spain, the gifted sensation then pulled a goal back for Les Bleus with just over 10 minutes to play. The comeback was now well and truly on.
Given the hope to push on and search for a leveller, France duly found a dramatic late equaliser when Jean-Philippe Mateta coolly slotted his penalty at the death.
While France’s hopes of clinching gold were revitalised, Spain ultimately got over the line in extra-time, for a brilliant brace from Sergio Camello sealed the victory to hand Spain their first men’s Olympic gold since 1992.
Henry’s Debrief
“Of course, the story didn’t end as we wanted, but it was extraordinary. And then we won medals at the finish,” Henry reflected afterwards.
“It’s hard to celebrate this medal, but you have to do it. It took me 10 minutes to swallow the pill. It’s the first time I’ve felt this way after a defeat in a final. What is super important to me is that the team fought from the first to the last minute. We made this final a real football match. It came down to very little. In fact, the players fought in every match, even if it was the least they could do, if only for our supporters. Everyone had fun. We experienced emotions, we had a great run and we have a medal.
“It was a great human adventure. But what we created will remain for life. That’s the magic of the Olympic Games. I told the players that they had earned my respect for life.”
Focus Shifts
Despite the result not going in their favour, the entire French playing and coaching staff will rightfully remember their remarkable journey in this competition with a real sense of joy.
Looking ahead for the Monaco players involved, and they’ll now immediately switch their focus to the upcoming club campaign, which begins next weekend when ASM take on AS Saint-Etienne in their Ligue 1 opener.