Canada pulls off miracle comeback in Olympic women’s soccer
The Canadian Olympic Women’s soccer team will live to fight another day after a thrilling comeback win over France earlier today.
After the team was handed a devastating six-point penalty from FIFA stemming from a drone scandal, Canada was put into a position where they would have to win all of their group games to have a chance to advance.
It seemed like that was going to be too much to ask for as Canada was tied 1-1 with France with just under three minutes of stoppage time separating the Canadians from a possible elimination.
Then, against all odds, it was Canada’s Vanessa Gilles scoring the game-winner in the 102nd minute that propeled them to victory.
Soccer féminin ⚽ : @VanessaGilles permet au Canada 🇨🇦 de prendre les devants face à la France 🇫🇷. C’est 2-1.@CanadaSoccerFR #Paris2024 #rcsports #jeuxolympiques #soccer pic.twitter.com/s7sqBJo6Pt
— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) July 28, 2024
Canada has now erased that six-point penalty handed out to them by FIFA and now sits at zero points in the Group A standings, which is good enough for a tie with New Zealand for third place. Canada is currently the only undefeated team in their group.
France’s Marie-Antoinnette Katoto opened up the scoring in the 42nd minute, putting all the pressure on Canada to respond in the second half. Canadian captain Jessie Fleming did her part in helping her team get back into things, scoring the equalizer in the 58th minute.
Soccer féminin ⚽ : Jessie Fleming 🇨🇦 égalise la marque face à la France 🇫🇷. C’est 1-1.@_jessiefleming @CanadaSoccerFR #Paris2024 #rcsports #jeuxolympiques #soccer pic.twitter.com/ef8ehRRvAc
— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) July 28, 2024
An array of injuries caused there to be 13 extra minutes of stoppage time added to the end of the game. It turned out that was exactly the amount of time that Canada needed to find a way to get the all-important game-winner.
Canada has been playing this tournament without head coach Bev Priestman, who was suspended as a result of the drone scandal, as well as Assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi.
The work is far from over for the Canadian women as they will still need to find a way to beat Colombia on Wednesday if they want a chance to defend their gold medal.
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