Spain beats Morocco 2-1 to reach its second straight Olympics final in men’s soccer and 5th overall

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Juanlu Sanchez came off the bench to fire Spain to a record-equaling fifth Olympic men's soccer final on Monday.

Sanchez struck in the 85th minute at Stade de Marseille to seal a 2-1 win over Morocco and set up a final against either France or Egypt.

Morocco led 1-0 at halftime after the tournament's leading scorer Soufiane Rahimi converted a penalty in the 37th.

Spain evened the score in the 65th after Fermin Lopez showed quick feet in the box and fired a left-footed shot low in the bottom corner. It was the Barcelona midfielder’s fourth goal of the tournament and over-exuberant celebrations earned him a yellow card after kicking the corner flag and breaking it in two.

It was Lopez's assist that set up Sanchez to sweep his winning goal low into the far corner.

Spain, which won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, was the beaten finalist at the Tokyo Games three years ago when it lost to Brazil.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games