The final of Men’s Olympic Soccer kicks off at 12pm EST on Friday, August 9, 2024 with both France and Spain looking for their 2nd Olympic Gold Medals.
France vs Spain Odds
- FRA +137
- DRAW +210
- SPA +210
- FRA to adv -143
- SPA to adv +105
- Over 2.5 +125
- Under 2.5 -163
- BTTS Yes -106
- BTTS No -125
France Preview
France topped Group A at 3-0-0 ahead of the USA, New Zealand and Guinea.
They beat USA 3-0, Guinea 1-0 and New Zealand 3-0 in the group stage. In the quarterfinals they kept rolling with a 1-0 win over Argentina.
Then in the semis they met the Pharaohs of Egypt in what ended in a 3-1 win in extra-time.
In Egypt vs France it was Egypt scoring first in the 62’.
France had plenty of chances and hit the post twice.
The hosts broke through in the 83’ with Michael Olise threading a pass to Jean-Philippe Mateta who fired it past the Egypt keeper to level the game at 1-1. That makes it 3 games in a row where Mateta has scored.
Stoppage time came to a close with a huge controversial moment with Egypt looking to have swatted the ball out of the air with a clear handball in their box which was not called. After a long wait and VAR review, the ref stayed with his original call and deemed that a French player committed a foul on the play prior to the handball, so on we went.
Omar Fayed took a yellow after arguing about the VAR review before it went in Egypt’s favor anyways and then immediately once ET started he was called on a yellow card challenge meaning he was sent off.
That basically did in Egypt, as Mateta would get his 2nd of the game, heading in a shot from close range in the 99’.
He’s now up to 4 goals in the tournament.
France kept piling on the pressure and Olise scored in the second half of extra time to make it 3-1.
This team played many U23 friendlies starting last summer and since that time are 9-2-0, outscoring opponents 29-7 with 6 clean sheets in those 11 games.
Spain Preview
Spain were 2nd in Group C at 2-0-1, ahead of Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan and behind Egypt.
Spain beat Uzbekistan 2-1, Dominican Republic 3-1, lost 2-1 to Egypt with a rotated squad and then beat Japan 3-0 in the quarterfinals led by 2 goals by Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez.
Onto the semifinals and Morocco opened the scoring with a PK in the 37’ from Soufiane Rahimi.
It stayed that way into the 2nd half and until it was again Fermin Lopez for Spain getting Spain who’s been strong all tournament to level in the 65’ before assisting on the game-winner in the 85’ to Juanlu Sanchez for a 2-1 Spain win.
France vs Spain Head-to-Head
The only time these U23s of these nations have met was way back in the 1996 Olympics in a 1-1 draw.
France vs Spain Prediction
For player props, France’s Mateta (+187) and Spain’s Lopez (+300) who each sit tied in 2nd for tournament scoring with 4 goals in 5 games have to options for anytime scorers.
France has only allowed 1 goal while scoring 11, meanwhile Spain have not been as tight defensively giving up 5 goals, while also scoring 11.
France has been the slightly better team this tournament and have the home field edge playing at Parc des Princes so I’d give them the edge to come out on top and lift the trophy.
But Spain have been almost as good and their 1 loss came with a rotated squad.
So there’s no reason to not expect Spain to be able to contribute as well. Some soccer picks options could be:
- BTTS (-106)
- France to win gold (-143)
- France to win and BTTS (+225)
The last time a European team won gold in Europe was Spain in Barcelona in 1992. In fact that was the last time a European team has won gold at all on the men’s side.
This time France gets the win in Paris.
- Men’s Olympic Soccer Prediction: France to lift trophy (-143)
Ryan Métivier is a seasoned editor, writer and communications professional with years of experience in all fields. When it comes to covering sports, he’s written for numerous outlets and organizations including the OHL, CHL, SportsXpress, Sports Betting Dime, Cleveland.com, MassLive, FanSided and others.
While he’ll always cheer for his hometown Toronto teams, when it comes to betting, his only allegiance is his bankroll. Ryan specializes in global soccer, the NFL and the NHL, but if there is a bet to be made, he’ll make it. As the founder of Shred The Spread, Ryan focuses on combining storylines, trends, analytics and good bankroll management to creating simple bets that make sense.
When not making a case for why both teams will score in an MLS soccer match, he can be found focusing his efforts on fitness, attempting to learn Spanish, cooking or planning his travel adventure.
