Canada isn’t quite out of the Olympics yet, despite being forced to give up their six points in the group stages that almost certainly see them out of contention for a medal for good. Although it was not the players’ fault that the coaching staff was caught spying on other teams by using drones to fly high above their training grounds, they were the ones who would suffer the price.
However, they didn’t let this discourage them from playing some of the best football we have ever seen them play on a large stage. Canada beat one of the best all-time women’s teams of all time, France, in their home country on their home soil in the Games. That’s extremely unfortunate for the French team, but very inspiring for the Canadian women’s team.
How it happened
The Canadian team has had to bounce back from adversity in the Olympics before they have even made it out of the group stages to the quarterfinals. The players were shocked, surprised, and confused as to the scandal going on around them, and why they were the ones being punished for the alleged issues. Veteran players, like Gilles and Huitema, said the other girls are not sure how to proceed in the games.
They’re treating us like we were caught doping. Many of the players spent the night crying. They had a hard time sleeping. It was stressful and emotional, and they had no control over the situation.
Their focus needed to quickly shift from the outside noise and distractions. Even with the media amplifying unwanted attention, the chance of a lifetime, of competing at the Olympics, needed to take precedence. They faced off against the host nation on Sunday night. As one of the premier rosters in the world. this was always going to provide a daunting challenge. With an interim coach and a scandal looming over their heads, they surely wouldn’t be able to focus and play their best soccer—right? Wrong. They shocked the French team and the world when they came out and played fantastic soccer for 90 minutes. Every person, like Jessie Fleming, had a standout game.
End of game and final result
In injury time in the tense match that saw the teams headed into overtime with the score 1-1 for either side, Gilles, the center back on the team, was able to tap the ball in off of a rebound that saw the Canada women’s team go up 2-1 with just a few minutes left to spare. The stunning win was not only surprising, but also inspiring to the team and the country as a whole.
The girls were happy to have won, but they were a little downtrodden by the overall vibe of the game and the country’s locker room before and after the game. The entire game and the results seem to have been scarred by the scandal going on around them. Even the fans noticed that the girls were wary of how to act after the game and the historic win. Martin Collins, a fan from Ontario shared her thoughts according to the same ESPN article referenced earlier:
I just feel awful for the girls. It really seems like they didn’t know or didn’t benefit from whatever was happening, but I guess we’ll find out. I also didn’t know how it would be, being here with all of this going on. But all through this trip, people have been nothing but kind to us.
Canada vs. France Stats
When comparing the way France played and Canada played, the game was very even, which we wouldn’t have expected going into the game. The teams have met eleven times overall, with France winning seven of the 11 matches, Canada winning just two, and two ending in a draw. France has scored 13 goals in the 11 meetings, and Canada has only netted four goals against the French team.
At the previous Olympics, France won their two matches against France. They ran rampant over the Canada women’s team 4-0 in their last two meetings together, so Canada beating the French team is really history in the making.
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