France beat Italy 45-39 and Poland outscored China 45-44 to enter the gold medal match of men's epee team event here Friday at the Beijing Olympic Games.

French fencer Ulrich Robeiri scored 17 points, while individual event silver medalist Fabrice Jeannet and his teammate Jerome Jeannet contributed 15 and 13 points each.

"I thought it was too difficult to catch up. If it was five points, it is a lot easier and more possible to win. Seven points is on the edge of losing a match, but now that it's over we'll focus on the bronze medal. We'll fight for that," Italy's Tagliariol Matteo, winner of the men's epee individual event, said about the bout.

The Poland-China encounter was a cruel one, with Polish fencer Tomasz Motyka and China's Wang Lei tied at a thrilling 44-44. The two clashed while making the last hit, and both fell to the ground.

Wang pleaded about the judging of the last and decisive point, but the referee kept it as 45-44 in favor of Poland. China will face Italy in the bronze medal bout.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)