Canada has been knocked out of the Paris Olympic women’s soccer quarterfinal after losing to Germany on penalties following a scoreless draw.
In a match that saw no goals in regular time, Canada missed two spot-kicks eliminating its chance of reclaiming the gold medal it won at the Tokyo Games.
Adriana Leon and Ashley Lawrence were denied by German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who scored the decisive penalty to ensure Germany’s 4-2 shootout win.
Germany’s Klara Buhl could have given her side the lead in the first half, but her effort was smartly saved by Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.
Canada began knocking on the door in the second half. Leon had the best chance to put her team ahead, finding herself through on goal, only for Berger to make the save from point-blank range.
Evelyne Viens had a great opportunity with just over 10 minutes of regulation after finding the ball inside the penalty box, but her first-time effort went wide of the right-hand post. Following two close chances from Germany in the dying minutes of the game, Janine Beckie found some space inside the area with 10 seconds to spare, but her effort went high and wide to send the game to extra time.
In the 113th minute, Germany midfielder Sydney Lohmann headed the ball onto the crossbar from close range, in what was their best chance to go ahead.
With no goals scored in the extra period, the match went to penalties, where Germany came out on top.
Canada have been eliminated from the tournament (AFP via Getty Images)
Canada’s exit follows the controversy around them being found guilty of flying a drone over New Zealand’s training sessions ahead of the Games, leading to a six-point deduction by FIFA and a £175,720 fine. Despite their appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the decision on Wednesday.
Head coach Bev Priestman, along with team analyst Joseph Lombardi — who operated the drone — and assistant coach Jasmine Mander, received one-year suspensions from FIFA. Priestman voluntarily stepped back from coaching duties during the team’s opening group game against New Zealand, a match Canada won before the points deduction was enforced. She was later removed from her post for the remainder of the Olympics after it was revealed that drone surveillance had been used before this summer’s Games, prompting FIFA to impose a harsher punishment. Interim coach Andy Spence has been leading the team in her absence.
In an internal email, Priestman accused the top 10 teams of deploying the same covert methods. However, after the highest-ranked federations — Spain, France, Germany, U.S., Japan, Brazil, Australia, Colombia, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Zambia — at the Paris Olympics were contacted by The Athletic, the French, German and Zambian national women’s football teams denied using drones to spy on opposition training sessions.
The points deduction left Canada with a deficit of three points in Group A, putting them on the brink of elimination. However, the team managed a dramatic comeback against host nation France, scoring a 102nd-minute winner through Vanessa Gilles before winning their final game against Colombia to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
(AFP via Getty Images)
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