Against the odds, the Canadian women’s soccer team has qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The Canadians, defending Olympic champions, secured qualification to the knockout stages of the Olympic Games with a 1-0 victory over Colombia in Nice, in the south of France Wednesday night.
It was an uphill battle, due to having six points deducted for the drone spy scandal that broke last week. But Canada managed to win each of their three group games to finish group runners-up behind hosts France, who they beat 2-1 in Saint-Étienne Sunday.
Canada will now face a talented German team in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Aug. 3, in a potentially exciting fixture.
Gilles the hero again
Vanessa Gilles was Canada’s hero again, scoring her second game-winning goal of the Olympics. The defender scored a header from Jessie Fleming free kick in the 61st minute to secure Canada’s progression to the next round.
“It’s been a hard couple days, but right now all I’m feeling is an immense amount of pride,” Gilles told CBC Olympics after the win. “Pride to be Canadian, to be part of this group, and I’m just really excited to be in the quarterfinals.
“We’re still Canadian, and we always felt the support. I’ve never gotten so many messages from Canadians who believe in us and support us,” Gilles added. “I’ve gotten more messages from this group stage than I have even winning a gold medal.
“The world might be against us, but Canada is sticking with us, and hopefully, we go all the way.”
Qualification to the quarterfinals seemed unlikely, some may have thought impossible, after the six-point deduction.
And despite winning their previous two matches – a 2-1 comeback victories against both New Zealand and France – Canada sat on zero points entering the final group stage match knowing only a victory against Colombia would do.
But in another must-win game against a strong Colombia side Wednesday, the Canadian women demonstrated the grit, determination, and togetherness interim coach Andy Spence’s side is becoming known for.
Canada starts strong
Canada made four changes to the starting eleven from the 2-1 win over France on Sunday with Julia Grosso, Janine Beckie, Adriana Leon, and Cloé Lacasse coming in for Quinn, Gabby Carle, Nichelle Prince, and Simi Awujo, respectively.
Canada started the match well, dominating possession and creating the more dangerous scoring chances in the first 45 minutes.
Canada’s best chance came in the 20th minute when Fleming crossed a free kick from a dangerous area into the box toward the back post. Jordyn Huitema, with plenty of space and time, met the cross but her header just missed by under a foot.
Colombia had four shots on target to Canada’s one. However, all but one of Colombia’s chances were relatively low-danger chances that were easily saved by goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.
Colombia’s best chance of the opening half was when forward Linda Caicedo dribbled around a Canadian defender to create enough space to shoot, but her powerful shot flew directly toward Sheridan who made an easy catch.
At halftime, Canada controlled possession 58-42 percent, created much more dangerous scoring chances, and outshot Colombia 6-5. But the all-important goal remained elusive.
Canada continue to apply pressure in second half
At the start of the second half, Canada immediately began playing on the front foot, completely dictating the pace of the match, and nearly found the opening goal less than 60 seconds into the latter 45 minutes.
Substitute Nichelle Prince made a commanding run down the right flank and drew Colombia goalkeeper Katherine Tapia off of her line. Prince squared a pass for the trailing Huitema, running in from the midfield, but her shot was directly at Tapia for an easy save.
In the 50th minute, Ashley Lawrence played a bouncing ball into Colombia’s penalty area. Huitema attempted to flick it forward for Prince, but she was too well covered by Colombia’s compact backline to latch onto the ball and have a shot.
Canada continued to press. And they were eventually rewarded.
Gilles converts Fleming’s perfectly delivered free kick
Fleming delivered a perfect free kick toward the six-yard box after Julia Grosso had been fouled on the left flank on 61 minutes. Gilles split two Colombian defenders before jumping up to guide the ball into the net with her head to give Canada a critical 1-0 lead. It was her second goal of the tournament, the first coming against France three days earlier.
Prince continued her dynamic substitute performance and continued to transform Canada’s attack. She almost helped doublel Canada’s lead but her cross toward Evelyn Viens was too high and it bounced harmlessly to Tapia.
Colombia turned on the intensity in the final half-hour, creating a myriad of chances, but most of them didn’t amount to a high xG chance. Colombia enjoyed more possession in the final half hour, but couldn’t do much with it, as many of their five second-half shots hardly troubled Sheridan.
Colombia only registered one shot on target (to Canada’s two) in the second half, which came off a high-press initiated by Caicedo, but Yirleidis Minota’s shot from an angle was harmlessly scooped up by Sheridan in the 77th minute.
Canada’s defense was extremely organized, compact, and focused and did well to limit the amount of quality chances Colombia could create all match.
Colombia controlled possession in the dying minutes. But Canada’s defense remained resilient, clearing away every loose ball and Sheridan made a handful of quality claims, clearances, and saves when she had to.
The Colombian still qualifies for the knockout round as one of the best third-place.
Canada’s gold medal defense is far from over. But the best may still be yet to come.
Contribute to Total Soccer News: Help us continue delivering independent Canadian soccer journalism with a financial contribution.
