Canada has qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament despite the reigning champions being docked six points for spying on opponents earlier in the group stage.
Lyon defender Vanessa Gilles collected a pass from Jessie Fleming on the line to give Canada the lead against Colombia in Nice in the 61st minute. The goal was enough to send Canada into second place in Group A and a place in the last eight.
Andy Spence’s team held on and won. On Saturday at 13:00 (local time) the team will now play the quarterfinals in Marseille against Germany.
FIFA deducted six points from Canada for flying a drone over opponents New Zealand’s training sessions ahead of the Games, as a wider spying scandal came to light.
Canada appealed the penalty, but the decision was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday.
Head coach Bev Priestman was also suspended for a year by FIFA, as were team analyst Joseph Lombardi – the operator of the drone in the incident that sparked the wide-scale investigation – and assistant coach Jasmine Mander.
Canada won the opening match against New Zealand, but suffered a points deduction. Head coach Priestman was absent from the sidelines, having voluntarily withdrawn from the match following the drone incident.
She was later removed from her duties by Canada for the remainder of the Olympics after it emerged that drones were used against opponents ahead of this summer’s Games, before FIFA imposed a more severe sanction. Interim coach Spence has led the team in Priestman’s absence.
The points deduction came ahead of the second group match against France, leaving Canada on the brink of elimination with minus three points in Group A.
However, they came back in spectacular fashion against the home side, coming from behind to score the winning goal in the 102nd minute through Gilles, keeping their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals alive.
Canada arrives at the 2024 Games as reigning champions after winning a surprise gold medal in Tokyo. Priestman’s team knocked out the USWNT in the semifinals in Japan before beating Sweden on penalties in the final.
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