Tokyo (AFP)

The French men's foil team, Olympic vice-champion at Rio-2016, qualified for the final of the Tokyo Olympics by beating Japan 45 to 42, Sunday in Chiba, which ensures France a 21st medal .

Their final, against Russia competing under a neutral flag, is scheduled for 19:50 local (12:50 French).

The last title for men's team foil dates back to the Sydney Games in 2000.

Attention, trap match!

This semi-final looked like the quarter-final lost (45-44) on Saturday by the French swordsmen, reigning Olympic champions, against the same Japan, condemning them to classification matches.

Their foil colleagues, vice-world team champions in 2019, were therefore warned.

"These are guys who are going to gamble their lives, there is an Olympic final at stake (...) We are at the Games, the Japanese are at home, they seem to have mastered the pressure well, that Galvanizes them more than anything else, so it's up to us to be strong so as not to let ourselves be trodden on, "Enzo Lefort warned after the quarter-final won easily against Egypt (45-34).

"The Japanese are trying a lot, they are going fast (...) They have nothing to lose, they are underdogs, they should not even have been qualified because they were drafted so for them it is only fun", had estimated for his part Maxime Pauty.

In fact, the game was undecided until the 7th stint, the two camps being held at one to two touches maximum.

But Julien Mertine, then inflicting a 5-0 to his opponent, allowed the Blues to take off (35-28).

Enzo Lefort continued (5-4, 40-32), then Erwann Le Péchoux, battered yet (5-10), finally allowed the Blues to utter a huge cry of relief.

After their quarter-final, the French explained why Le Péchoux, who is 39 years old had been qualified only as a substitute for his fifth and last Olympics, was finally part of the holders in place of Maxime Pauty.

"It was a tactical choice of team assumed, added Pauty, 27 years old and of which it is the first selection. Julien (Mertine, note), I find that he is in full fluff at the moment, me I am a little more in doubt so the deal, it was + the one that does not come out, he agrees to go to the end of the competition without having an emergency door and to put his ego aside + so it is what i do and i'm all the way behind guys ".

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