Canada Completes Improbable Paris Olympics Comeback

The Canada women’s soccer team just went from redemption tour to revenge tour at the Paris Olympics.

Docked six points in the Olympic tournament standings due to a Spygate scandal that enveloped both of the country’s national senior teams, the Canadian women faced long odds to defend their Olympic title won at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

In a surprising turn of events, Canada now brims with confidence after qualifying for the knockout stage with a 1-0 victory over Colombia in Nice on Wednesday to finish second in Group A behind host France.

The usage of illegal drone spying on opposing teams’ practices rocked the Canada soccer federation to its core, costing women’s national team coach Bev Priestman her job. After its investigation, FIFA banned Priestman for one year and took its punishment one step further by penalizing Canada with a six-point reduction in the Olympic tournament standings.

That left the Canadians with minus-3 points in the table with just two group games remaining. The deficit wasn’t insurmountable, but the path to the knockout rounds remained daunting, especially with matches remaining against France and Colombia.

Driven by an “us against the world” mentality, Canada worked its biggest miracle last Sunday with a 2-1 comeback victory against the French in Saint-Etienne. The Canadians scored twice in the second half, including the winning goal by Vanessa Gilles in the 12th minute of stoppage time, to stun the Olympic hosts.

An emotional Gilles defended her team afterward. “We’re not cheaters,” she said. “We’re damn good players. We’re a damn good team. We’re a damn good group. And we proved that today.”

The dramatic victory only brought Canada to zero points in the standings, though. It would have to defeat Colombia to advance.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Canadians suffered defeat off the field, as their attempt to overturn FIFA’s penalties was denied by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“Going into the match we wanted to win regardless of what that ruling was,” captain Jesse Fleming told reporters. “It did not change our game plan or what we wanted to do.”

Gilles played national hero again, as her 61st-minute goal was enough for Canada to complete its improbable comeback with a 1-0 victory over the Colombians.

“Chances were stacked against us, but we pulled through,” Gilles told reporters. “We stayed together through it all, and we have seen results of that.”

A defending champion with nothing to lose should indeed be feared. Next up for the Canadians is Germany in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Marseille.

Al Michaels once famously asked if miracles can be believed. The Canada women’s soccer team proved yet it again that — yes — anything is possible at the Olympic Games.