Staying alive!Canada's women's Olympic soccer team beat Team Colombia 1-0 Wednesday in the group stage finale to advance to the next round after it lost an appeal earlier in the day to cancel a six-point deduction. . Canada will face Germany in the quarterfinals. Quarterfinals kick off Saturday, with elimination play continuing through August 10..Canada, gold medal defendants from Tokyo 2021, was docked six points in the 2024 Paris Games because its women’s team’s coaches and a Canada Soccer analyst were caught recording a Team New Zealand practice with a drone. The incident was reported to police and the staff were sent home and suspended for a year. . Though Canada won its first two games against New Zealand and France, earning three points a piece, it entered the Colombia game with zero due to the six-point penalty levied by FIFA..Following the win against France, Canadian player Vanessa Gilles reminded critics to distinguish the staff who cheated from the athletes that have trained and worked hard for years in hopes of an Olympic medal. “We’re not cheaters. We’re damn good players, and we’re a damn good team. We proved that,” she said, per TSN. . "I honestly think that this Olympics is our tournament," said her teammate Kadeisha Buchanan. The team has placed in the last three Olympics, winning the bronze medal in 2012 and 2016 before taking home the gold in 2021. "We have the motivation and we have the drive,” added Ashley Lawrence. "We showed that we have the mentality.""We can only control getting the win. That is our motivating factor. We want to go into the game 100% to blow it out of the water and win."
Staying alive!Canada's women's Olympic soccer team beat Team Colombia 1-0 Wednesday in the group stage finale to advance to the next round after it lost an appeal earlier in the day to cancel a six-point deduction. . Canada will face Germany in the quarterfinals. Quarterfinals kick off Saturday, with elimination play continuing through August 10..Canada, gold medal defendants from Tokyo 2021, was docked six points in the 2024 Paris Games because its women’s team’s coaches and a Canada Soccer analyst were caught recording a Team New Zealand practice with a drone. The incident was reported to police and the staff were sent home and suspended for a year. . Though Canada won its first two games against New Zealand and France, earning three points a piece, it entered the Colombia game with zero due to the six-point penalty levied by FIFA..Following the win against France, Canadian player Vanessa Gilles reminded critics to distinguish the staff who cheated from the athletes that have trained and worked hard for years in hopes of an Olympic medal. “We’re not cheaters. We’re damn good players, and we’re a damn good team. We proved that,” she said, per TSN. . "I honestly think that this Olympics is our tournament," said her teammate Kadeisha Buchanan. The team has placed in the last three Olympics, winning the bronze medal in 2012 and 2016 before taking home the gold in 2021. "We have the motivation and we have the drive,” added Ashley Lawrence. "We showed that we have the mentality.""We can only control getting the win. That is our motivating factor. We want to go into the game 100% to blow it out of the water and win."
