Canada has qualified for the quarterfinals of the Olympic women’s soccer competition – although the defending champions were deducted six points for spying on opponents early in the group stage.
Lyon defender Vanessa Gilles converted a cross from Jessie Fleming to give Canada the lead in the 61st minute against Colombia in Nice. That goal was enough to secure second place in Group A and a place in the last eight.
Andy Spence’s side held on for victory and will now face Germany in the quarterfinals in Marseille on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
Canada was deducted six points by FIFA for flying a drone over New Zealand’s opponents’ training sessions before the games, and a major espionage scandal subsequently erupted.
Canada appealed that penalty, but the decision was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday.
Head coach Bev Priestman was also suspended for a year by FIFA, as was team analyst Joseph Lombardi – the drone user in the incident that sparked the widespread investigation – and assistant coach Jasmine Mander.
Canada won its first group game against New Zealand before receiving a point deduction because head coach Priestman was not on the sidelines after voluntarily stepping away from officiating the game following the drone incident.
She was later removed from her post by Canada for the remainder of the Olympics after it was revealed that drones had already been used against opponents ahead of the Summer Games, before FIFA imposed a stricter sanction. Interim coach Spence led the team in Priestman’s absence.
The points deduction was imposed before the second group game against France, so Canada is three points down in Group A and is on the verge of elimination.
However, they staged a dramatic comeback against the hosts, coming from behind and scoring the winner through Gilles in the 102nd minute to keep their quarter-final qualification hopes alive.
Canada traveled to the 2024 Games as defending champions after winning a surprise gold in Tokyo. Priestman’s team eliminated the USWNT in the semifinals in Japan before defeating Sweden on penalties in the final.
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