Canadian women lose heartbreaking shootout to end Olympic run
The Canadian women’s soccer team’s journey at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has had quite a few hurdles along the way.
And on Saturday, in their quarterfinal against Germany, Canada couldn’t quite jump over the latest one, seeing their Olympic campaign come to an end.
The two sides were held scoreless through 90 minutes, and extra time had several scoring chances for both sides, though no one could convert.
With the Germans shooting first in the penalty shootout, all three of the first three shooters for both teams converted on their shots, before Canada’s Ashley Lawrence’s penalty was stopped. The third German shot went over the bar, but Canada’s Adriana Leon was also stopped on her attempt by German keeper Ann-Katrin Berger to keep the lead at 2-1.
After a German goal, Janine Beckie snuck things over the line to keep Canada’s hopes alive. But Berger herself took the final kick to win the match, slotting the ball into the lower right corner.
Soccer ⚽ : revivez la séance de tirs au but entre le Canada 🇨🇦 et l'Allemagne 🇩🇪.#Paris2024 #jeuxolympiques #rcsports #football pic.twitter.com/qrVIFxzfkO
— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) August 3, 2024
In the semifinal match Germany will face the USA, Canada’s fiercest rival in the sport. Though they’re traditionally ranked as one of the top teams in the world, the Americans have not won Olympic gold since 2012 and were beaten by the Canadians in the Tokyo 2020 semifinal.
The USA defeated Japan 1-0 earlier today to advance to the final four teams in France.
While the pressure of being defending Olympic champions would be enough for most countries, a scandal involving Canada that broke in the lead-up to their first match has overshadowed much of the tournament.
Germany came into the match ranked fourth in the world, coming in with two wins and a loss in the group stage to come second in Group B, while the Canadians were ranked eighth in the world.
After their opening match against New Zealand, the IOC and FIFA decided to dock Canada six points in the group stage, meaning they’d need three wins to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Team head coach Bev Priestman and two Canada Soccer staffers, analyst Joseph Lombardi and assistant coach Jasmine Mander were sent home from the Games and banned from soccer competitions for a year after a drone was discovered spying on New Zealand ahead of the tournament’s opening match.
This is the first Olympic tournament since 2008 that the Canadian women have failed to reach the podium.
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