Players of Canada © Gallo Images
Canada gets a chance to defend its Olympic gold medal in women’s soccer after securing a spot at next year’s Paris Summer Games with a 2-1 win over Jamaica on Tuesday.
Canada were in control of their fate in the second leg after a 2-0 away win in Kingston on Friday and after an early scare, the home crowd delivered the expected result, convincingly punching their ticket to Paris with a 4-1 victory.
The Canadians join the United States in the 12-team Olympic tournament, with the Americans previously clinching one of the two spots in the CONCACAF region.
“I’ve been thinking about this game from the minute the World Cup ended, so everyone really did everything they could to turn the situation around,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said.
“This team is better when it strives for something and at the end of the day, this World Cup is about doing wrong right.”
Qualifying for the Olympics was a small redemption after the bitterly disappointing performance at the Women’s World Cup, where Canada failed to advance past the group stage.
Canada has won one gold and two bronze medals in women’s soccer at the last three Summer Games, but Priestman acknowledged her team still has a lot of work to do if they want to return to the podium in Paris.
“It’s exciting, but I’m not getting carried away by any means because we have really hard work ahead of us,” Priestman said.
“It will be harder than ever to get back on the podium, as you just saw at the World Championships.”
Supported by a roaring home crowd, Canada applied early pressure, but against the run of play it was the “Reggae Girlz” who took a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute through Drew Spence’s brilliantly executed free kick from outside the penalty area Corner past a diving Kailen Sheridan.
The goal shocked the Canadian team and they began to attack with even more vigor. Ashley Lawrence was denied an equalizer when Rebecca Spencer sensationally saved her long-range shot.
But Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit was rewarded in the 39th minute when Cloe Lacasse got her header from Adriana Leon’s corner, sending the teams into halftime tied 1-1.
A Jordyn Huitema header five minutes into the second half gave Canada the lead and sparked a celebration that lasted until the final whistle.
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