Spain takes gold after 5-3 win against France in Olympic men's soccer final

PARIS (AP) — It’s been a golden summer for Spanish soccer.

Less than a month after winning the European Championship, Spain followed up with a thrilling 5-3 extra-time victory in the Olympic men’s final against France on Friday.

Sergio Camello’s two goals eventually settled an epic match in Spain's favor after France fought back from 3-1 down to force extra time at Parc des Princes.

“We are the happiest children in the world,” said Camello, who had come on as an 83rd-minute substitute and likely made himself a national icon.

Spain’s coach Santi Denia said his players deserved to cry “tears of joy” after “such a long-suffering match.”

Long-suffering for the players, maybe. But for anyone watching, it will live in the memory as a classic.

France took an early lead through Enzo Millot but Spain replied with three goals in 10 minutes as Barcelona star Fermin Lopez Lopez struck twice and Alex Baena made it 3-1 in the 28th minute.

Roared on by passionate home crowd, France mounted a late fightback in the second half after Maghnes Akliouche scored in the 79th. France pushed the game to extra time when Jean-Phillipe Mateta equalized from the penalty spot in the 93rd minute.

But the momentum swung once again when Camello lifted over France goalkeeper Guillaume Restes in the 100th and he got his second when racing away from his own half in the first minute of time added on.

The forward tore off his shirt and was quickly swamped by teammates and substitutes, who piled onto the field from the touchline in frenzied celebrations.

Spain, which lost the final to Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, became the first European gold medalist in men’s soccer since it last won the tournament at the Barcelona Games in 1992.

Not even during Spain's dominant run of winning back-to-back Euros and the World Cup from 2008-2012, could it add to that sole Olympic gold.

That wait ended in Paris and underlined the power of Spanish soccer once again. Spain also won the under 19s European Championship last month — beating France in the final.

The Olympic victory marked a personal double for Lopez and Baena who were both part of the Euro 2024-winning squad.

“What a summer. And I hope this summer never ends so we can continue winning,” Baena said. “I am very happy to have made history with Spain.”

It was another painful defeat in a final for a France team after losing on penalties to Argentina at the World Cup in 2022. Like then, the French players showed their resilience to battle back from a losing position and force extra time — only to fall short again.

While Camello’s goals ultimately ended French hopes of a first Olympic gold since Los Angeles 1984, the crowd continued to cheer loudly as coach Thierry Henry and his players showed their appreciation with a lap of honor after the final whistle.

“We tried to respond as best we could,” Henry said. "France is beautiful when we are all together, when we unite. It was a wonderful sight to see those flags, red, white and blue.

“People from the get-go wanted to support us. We lost tonight, but they kept singing.”

Spain’s victory ended the dominance of Latin American nations for the last five editions of the Olympics. Brazil and Argentina won twice in that time, with Mexico also taking gold.

Nigeria won at Atlanta 1996 and Cameroon at Sydney 2000.

Women’s soccer is also thriving in Spain after the national team won the World Cup last year. But it could not add to that success at the Olympics, with Spain’s women’s team losing 1-0 to Germany in the bronze medal match earlier on Friday.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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

France's Loic Bade is dejected at the end of the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

France's Manu Kone reacts after losing the men's soccer gold medal match against Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Spain's players celebrate at the end of the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Spain's Sergio Camello, back to camera, celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's fifth goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

France's Jean-Philippe Mateta scores the third goal against Spain during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France's Jean-Philippe Mateta celebrates after scoring his team's third goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

France's Jean-Philippe Mateta celebrates after scoring the third goal against Spain during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France's head coach Thierry Henry, is seen during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France's Enzo Millot celebrates after scoring the first goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

France's Enzo Millot celebrates after scoring the first goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

France's Enzo Millot celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the national anthems before the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France's Enzo Millot, right, and France's Kiliann Sildillia, left, celebrate after scoring during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Spain's Alex Baena celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Spain's Baena Alex, center, celebrates with his teammates after scoring his goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Spain's Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring his goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Spain's Sergio Camello, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Spain's Sergio Camello, left, celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Spain's Sergio Camello scores his team's fourth goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Nikos Seimenakis)

Spain's Sergio Camello celebrates the fourth goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Spain's Sergio Camello, centre, celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Spain's Sergio Camello celebrates after scoring his side's fifth goal during the men's soccer gold medal match between France and Spain at the Parc des Princes during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro’s main beaches bustle with commotion on sunny weekends. But activity ground to a near standstill on one stretch of sand. People held up their phones to record athletic feats they’d never before witnessed, or even imagined.

The game? Footvolley, a combination of soccer and beach volleyball. The athlete? A 3-year-old border collie named Floki.

Floki sparks wonder among bystanders, because he hangs tough in a game that even humans struggle to get a handle on. Footvolley rules are essentially the same as beach volleyball, but with a slightly lower net and, like soccer, players are forbidden from using hands and arms. Floki springs up from the sand to drive the ball with his mouth. He has become something of an internet sensation in Brazil, with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok.

Floki’s owner, Gustavo Rodrigues, is a footvolley coach, but swears he didn’t plan this. He had wanted an American Bully, a decidedly less sprightly breed. Floki came into Rodrigues’ life instead and quickly revealed his potential when, at just 2 months old, he started jumping after birthday balloons.

Rodrigues started Floki out on what's called “altinha,” where a group standing in a circle juggles a soccer ball for as long as possible. In 2023, Floki made his debut in the much more complex, competitive game of footvolley — a hobby enjoyed by some Brazilian soccer stars after they retire, including World Cup winners Ronaldinho and Romário.

Footvolley players need poise, agility, coordination, timing, finesse. Covering one side of the court between just two people means quick sprints back and forth on soft sand under the baking sun. It’s no mean feat, but Floki was a natural. A star was born.

“He does things that even some professionals don’t — like positioning on the court,” said Rodrigues, 26. “Sometimes the ball goes from one side (of the court) to the other, and he doesn’t keep his back turned to it. He turns toward the ball to always hit it straight on.”

It’s clear this high-energy pup lives for this game. Even resting under the shade of the beach’s caipirinha bar, he was laser-focused on the action of the adjacent court’s match.

When playing, he barks at Rodrigues to pass him the ball and seems to at least understand the basic rules. At times, rather than passing back to Rodrigues for the third and final touch their opponents expect, he sneaks the ball over the net himself to score a point. Then he jumps into Rodrigues’ arms to celebrate.

One of the awestruck onlookers Sunday was Luiza Chioli, who had traveled to Rio from Sao Paulo. She already knew the famous Floki from TikTok, but hadn’t expected front-row seats to watch him while sipping her gin and tonic.

“Seeing social media, we had thought it was just cuts, that they used the best takes,” said Chioli, 21. “But we saw he played, performed the whole time, did really well. It’s really cool.”

As Floki’s follower count has grown, partnerships and endorsement deals have come rolling in. Rodrigues and Floki live in the inland capital Brasilia, but often travel to Rio — footvolley’s mecca — and other Brazilian states to show off his skills, do marketing appearances and create monetized social media content.

His Sunday began with almost an hour playing beside former footvolley champion Natalia Guitler, who’s been called Queen of the Beach. Between attempts to film her doing a trick pass to him, he scampered for drinks of water or to dip in the ocean. By the end, both she and Floki were scrambling for shade.

“We’re dead,” she said as she collapsed onto the sand next to a panting Floki. Someone passed her a phone to check out the best clips for her Instagram, where she has almost 3 million followers.

“Me and my bestie @dog_altinha playing footvolley,” she wrote in a later post showing their long rally, and which included her bicycle kicking the ball over the net.

After a rest and another footvolley session, Floki headed to a more remote beach to do a marketing shoot for Farm, a fashion designer that’s become the paragon of Rio’s breezy tropical style, both in Brazil and abroad.

Then Floki was on Instagram hyping a brand of dog popsicles, gnawing a banana-flavored one himself, and giving an altinha demonstration to mall shoppers. His evening stroll along Copacabana’s beachside promenade showed him straining against his leash, still evidently bursting with his boundless energy.

With their weekend marketing blitz in Rio over, Rodrigues and Floki would head back to Brasilia, where their influencer hustle takes a back seat to the hustle of playing competitive matches. They win about one in every three, Rodrigues said, and their opponents are always desperate to avoid being beaten by a dog.

“It generates talk, and people make fun,” he said. “No one likes to lose a point to him, so people play their hearts out against us.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

The border collie named Floki and athlete Natalia Guitler play footvolley, a combination of soccer and volleyball, on Leblon beach in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Coach Gustavo Rodrigues celebrates a point with his trainee, border collie named Floki, as they play footvolley, a combination of soccer and volleyball, on Leblon beach in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

The border collie named Floki high-fives his coach Gustavo Rodrigues as they prepare to play footvolley, a combination of soccer and volleyball, on Leblon beach in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

The border collie named Floki plays footvolley, a combination of soccer and volleyball, on Leblon beach in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

The border collie named Floki plays footvolley, a combination of soccer and volleyball, on Leblon beach in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)