“Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light”
– Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, 1951
FIFA can bring the hammer down. Canada’s government can threaten funding. A team legend can be compelled to defend her reputation. Skeptics can question whether an Olympic gold medal was won on merit. And hot takes about this being worse than the Ben Johnson scandal can be floated around.
But none of that matters to the Canadian women’s soccer team.
In the ultimate display of heart, grit and guts, Canada showed on Sunday it will not go gentle into that good night at the Olympic Games.
Canada raged against the dying of the light by coming from behind to earn a dramatic 2-1 win vs. France at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, a result that helped Les Rouges stave off elimination and kept alive their hopes of repeating as Olympic champions.
There were many heroes for Canada, but none bigger than defender Vanessa Gilles, who scored on a rebound attempt that hit the near post and tucked inside the back of the net past French goalkeeper Constance Picaud deep into injury time. Gilles’ fifth career international goal secured a massive three points in a must-win match for Canada, who was playing with the weight of the world on its broad shoulders after a tumultuous week that has rocked the sport in this country to its very core.
On Saturday, FIFA docked six points from the Canadian team at the Paris Olympics, levied a heavy fine against Canada Soccer, and banned coach Bev Priestman and two members of her staff — Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander — for one year each for their roles in the infamous spying scandal.
FIFA’s point deduction meant Canada’s opening 2-1 win over New Zealand was wiped off the board and put it in a massive hole. A draw against the French wouldn’t have been enough for the Canadians, as it would have eliminated them from contention with one game remaining in the group stage. Gilles’ composed, left-footed strike handed the reigning Olympic champions a lifeline and allowed them to live another day.
Speaking to CBC Olympics on the pitch at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard shortly after the final whistle blew, an emotional Gilles, perhaps taking inspiration from Canadian hockey legend Phil Eposito’s call to action during the 1972 Summit Series, beautifully summed up the thoughts of her Canadian teammates amidst the brewing controversy over the spying scandal.
“What’s given us energy is each other, is our determination, is our pride to prove people wrong; our pride to represent this country when all this s*** is coming out about our values, about our representation as Canadians… We’re not cheaters. We’re damn good players. We’re a damn good team. We’re a damn good group and we proved that today,” Gilles stated.
Indeed, this is a damn special Canadian team, something that the host nation discovered to its peril on Sunday.
France entered this match on the back of a 3-2 win over Colombia in its Olympic opener and as the strong favourite. France is ranked No. 2 in the world by FIFA, six spots above Canada. The French had won five of their last six games against the Canadians, including a 2-1 decision last April in Le Mans in their previous encounter.
With world-class players and incredible depth, the French were expected to dominate the Canadians, something that Priestman warned about when speaking to Sportsnet prior to the tournament kicking off.
“France, I don’t need to say a lot about the home nation. They’ve got a lot of top players; we’re going to have to defend just as well as we are going to have to attack in that game,” Priestman stated.
Priestman’s prognostications proved uncannily accurate. Canada struggled to deal with France’s ultra-aggressive pressing game and made a number of turnovers in the first half. With just 29 per cent possession and no shots on target, the Canadians had to chase French shadows and didn’t pose any kind of attacking threat through the opening 45 minutes.
Canada did a good job of soaking up the pressure and repelling the attacking advances of the French before the dam finally broke just before halftime. A lovely French passing sequence saw Kenza Dal feed Marie-Antoinette Katoto inside the box. The France striker did well to peel away from Gilles and fellow defender Kadeisha Buchanan to create more space for herself, and then fired a low shot that beat goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan at the near post.
Needing multiple goals to save its Olympic campaign, Canada began to play with more attacking intensity at the start of the second half and was rewarded for its effort. Ashley Lawrence whipped a dangerous cross deep into the box that was mishandled by France’s goalkeeper, and Canadian captain Jessie Fleming swooped in to score on the rebound in the 58th minute.
Shortly after, acting head coach Andy Spence made important substitutions when he swapped in veteran forwards Janine Beckie and Evelyne Viens. Their introductions tipped the momentum in Canada’s favour. The collective pace and directness of Beckie and Viens in the final third caused France’s defenders all sorts of problems, and began to open up space for their teammates.
Lawrence, Beckie and Viens were now at the forefront of a now pulsating Canadian attack, ably abetted by Fleming’s masterful creative skills in central midfield. Try as it might, though, Canada couldn’t find a way to finish off its scoring chances.
But that changed in the 112th minute with Gilles’ composed finish after Picaud made a fabulous diving save on Canadian forward Jordyn Huitema’s shot from just outside of the penalty area.
It was a shocking way for France to lose, but Canada fully deserved the win because of the way it fought back in such incredibly difficult circumstances.
Wednesday’s match against Group A co-leaders Colombia (tied with France on three points) in Nice now looms large for the Canadians. It’s another must-win situation for Les Rouges as they need to collect three points against the South Americans in order to advance to the quarterfinals.
A loss or draw sends them home early and halts their quest for a fourth consecutive Olympic medal, after winning bronze in 2012 and 2016, and gold in 2021.
But if we’ve learned anything about the Canadian women’s team over the years, it’s that you can never count them out. Ever.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.
