Docked six points, labelled cheaters, and coaches suspended and sent back home, there was nothing Canada couldn’t handle as they reeled off three victories, erasing a six point deduction and claiming the second spot in Group A. They have, against the odds, advanced to the quarterfinals.
It felt like Canada was a team that FIFA didn’t want competing at the Olympics after a cheating scandal surfaced. Canada wasn’t outright expelled from the tournament, but they had to be perfect and play mistake-free football to continue to the elimination round. And that’s exactly what they did.
Canada booked their spot in the knockout round thanks to a 61st-minute goal from Vanessa Gilles off a free kick from Jessie Fleming. It was enough to secure a 1-0 win over Colombia.
