Which Premier League stars are going for Olympic medals?

Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta will be aiming to fire France to Olympic gold on Saturday at the Parc de Princes. The 27 year old has scored three goals in the knockout rounds after bagging a brace against Egypt in a semifinal decided after extra time. His former Eagles teammate Michael Olise, who recently sealed a move to German giants Bayern Munich, was also on target in the hard fought match in Lyon.

Are there other Premier League players in the Gold Medal match?

Like Olise, another recently departed Premier League player was involved in the game. Egypt's captain Mohamed ElNeny has just joined Al Jazira in the UAE Pro League after over 150 games at Arsenal. The Pharoahs midfielder will still have a chance to go for a prize in the bronze medal match on Friday against fellow North Africans Morocco.

So all focus from England's top flight will be on Mateta, wearing the number 14 shirt that France's Olympics manager Thierry Henry made famous at Arsenal. His run of form in Paris is no surprise for fans of the South London side, he was voted Crystal Palace player of the Season for his goalscoring feats.

Premier League gold medal winners from the past

If France were to win it would continue the trend of Premier League gold medallists. In Tokyo 2020 it was Brazil who took the top prize with Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa) and Richarlison (Everton) both on the books of Premier League clubs at the time. Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli was also in that squad but didn't play the final.

The first Premier League player win a gold medal and play the Olympic Final was Arsenal right back Lauren. The Cameroon defender had just joined the Gunners from Real Mallorca when they defeated Spain on penalties in Sydney. In 1996 Daniel Amokachi has scored in the Olympic Final for Nigeria, but by then he had already played his final game for Everton and signed for Besiktas before the historic win in Atlanta.

If you want to tune in to the France versus Spain Olympic men's football gold medal match, the game will be broadcast live on Peacock starting at 12pm Eastern Time. France are aiming for just their second soccer gold medal, forty years after the first in 1984. For Spain there has been a similar waiting time, they only won gold at Barcelona in 1992 and it took a 91st minute winner.