The Canadian women’s soccer team won’t be defending its Olympic title after losing to Germany 0-0 (4-2) on penalty kicks in Saturday’s quarterfinal in Marseille, France.
Despite many chances on goal, neither team found a way to score in regulation or extra time, forcing penalty kicks.
Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was the hero for Germany, stopping two attempts and converting the winner in penalties to crush Canada’s hopes of repeating.
“With all that happened, all we focused on was winning, winning a medal,” veteran Kadeisha Buchanan told Sportsnet’s Arash Madani. “We’re all heartbroken about that.”
Germany will now take on the United States, which reached the semifinals after a 1-0 victory over Japan.
After being docked six points by FIFA because of a drone spying scandal, which also led to the one-year ban of coach Bev Priestman, the Canadians were able to advance out of the preliminary round with a 3-0 record.
Captain Jessie Fleming was forced to leave the match at halftime for Canada.
FINAL SCORE: CANADA 0 (2), GERMANY 0 (4)
•Here is a recap of all the action from Marseille.
PK 5 for Germany: Berger comes up with the goal as she does it all to beat Canada in penalty kicks.
PK 4 for Canada: Beckie’s attempt is initially stopped but the ball still squeezes through as Canada stays alive. Close call!
PK 4 for Germany: Rauch scores as Sheridan isn’t able to get enough. Germany up 3-1.
PK 3 for Canada: Leon is stopped by Berger as she stops back-to-back shots. Germany remains up 2-1.
PK 3 for Germany: The attempt is wide as Germany is unable to capitalize on its advantage.
PK 2 for Canada: Lawrence’s attempt is stopped as Germany has the advantage.
PK 2 for Germany: Minge gets it right to the corner as Sheridan has no chance. Germany up 2-1.
PK 1 for Canada: Quinn is up to the task as she gets the goalkeeper going the wrong way as Canada equalizes.
PK 1 for Germany: Gwinn beats Sheridan with a perfect shot to put Germany up 1-0.
Extra time: Time for penalty kicks. Germany will shoot first.
120′: Another minute of added time before penalty kicks. We already had one between Spain and Colombia.
118′: Another corner for Canada but Beckie isn’t able to get anything going with her left foot with the ball bouncing.
115′: Chance for Canada as Grosso puts the ball into the box but Leon isn’t able to deflect it on goal.
114′: More relief for Canada as Germany’s corner attempt finds a free player but the ball is sent well wide.
113′: A big miss for Germany as a header that looked like it had a lot of room goes just over the bar. Could have been the dagger for Germany.
112′: A bit of a questionable call as Beckie gets called for a foul just outside of the box. Germany gets a free kick.
108′: Here comes Grosso as she subs in for Awujo who had a strong match for Canada.
106′: Lacasse takes the ball for a run, but her shot goes wide of the goal.
105′: The first half of extra time has come as we still await the game’s first goal. If we have no winner in the next 15 minutes then we go to penalty kicks.
105’+1: Germany has the ball bounce right in front of the goal, but Viens gets her foot on the ball as Brand is in disbelief, thinking she had a chance to score.
105′: Germany gets a corner as we have one minute of stoppage time added in the first half of added time.
104′: Germany tries to take the pressure off Canada but has their attempt go well wide.
Elisa Senss replaces Viven Endemann comes in as Germany looks for fresh legs.
102′: Awujo has her shot in the box go over the bar.
101′: Yellow card for Germany as Rauch is booked for the foul.
99′: Canada gets a ball into the goal area but the German goalkeeper swats it out as they continue to put on the pressure.
97′: Canada’s corner attempt by Beckie gets out of the box as Leone brings it back into the box but Germany is able to keep Canada from getting anything on goal.
95‘: Beckie threads the ball through to Viens but she isn’t able to get it on goal as she doesn’t have the angle on the one-timer.
92‘: Viens ruled offside as she tries to get something going early in extra time.
90‘: Time for extra time as the reigning Olympic champions look to keep their improbable run going.
90’+4: Beckie’s shot sails wide as Canada almost pulls off a last-minute goal as we now go to extra time.
90’+2: Canada almost allows a chance in the box but the ball is deflected out of danger in the closing moments.
90′: We have five minutes of stoppage time added as both teams look to break the deadlock.
89′: Germany with a dangerous chance as the Canadian defenders struggle to communicate in the box but the ball goes out for a corner.
88′: Beckie’s free kick isn’t able to find a teammate in the box as the German goalkeeper was able to scoop it up and play It forward.
87′: Closing in on the end of full time as Canada has a free kick looking to break this game open.
80′: A stoppage as German goalkeeper Berger gets looked at by the training staff.
79′: Yellow card for Germany as Jule Brand is booked by the official for a rough tackle.
78′: Lacasse puts the ball in the box but Viens isn’t able to get it on goal as Canada continues to pour on the pressure.
77′: Canada has some great possession in the attacking zone, but Beckie’s ball in the box misses a couple of teammates and goes out for a goal kick.
75′: Another cooling break as Canada looks to take advantage of some momentum following their second-half substitutions.
73′: Viens and Leon continue to provide a spark for Canada as No.11 has her shot deflected live.
70′: Leon gets free for a chance. Canada’s best opportunity in the match but she is unable to beat the goalkeeper.
68′: Leon has her attempt on net go wide.
62′: Viens makes a great run in the box on a ball from Beckie but the German goalkeeper is able to get to it first.
60′: A miss for Gilles as her header goes over the goal and lands on the top net. She has to move back to get a head on the ball which led to the missed chance.
59′: Awujo tries to get the ball to settle in the box but can’t get it to go. Some nice pressure for Canada with a corner kick upcoming.
56′: Canada makes a triple substitution, with Viens replacing Huitema, Leon replacing Prince, and Lacasse replacing Carle.
51′: Buchanan makes a crucial tackle in the box to prevent Schueller’s shot from reaching the goal. Some nervous moments for Canada to start the second half.
49′: Sheridan has to knock the ball out as the corner attempt gets into a dangerous spot in the box.
48′: Gilles has to make a last-second dive attempt at the ball to knock it out as Lea Schueller was threatening to break in for a chance.
46′: Fleming was taken out for the second half with Janine Beckie coming in as a sub.
•46′: Canadians were a little late coming out of the tunnel as Germany was waiting for them to come out onto the pitch. We now have the second half underway.
• HT: As Canada contemplates lineup changes, will we see Julia Grosso come in early in the second half?
• HT: Both teams head to the locker room in Marseille all tied at 0-0. Germany looked like the stronger team with some strong chances on goal.
Canada did find some time in the attacking end but hasn’t been able to find many quality opportunities.
• 45’+4: Fleming makes it back on the pitch after spending a few minutes on the sideline.
• 45’+1: Fleming is down on the pitch after colliding with Marina Hegering, as both go up for the ball. Fleming needs to get some attention as she took a tough fall.
Fleming has to come off the pitch in the meantime.
• 43′: Some space on the left flank for Jordyn Huitema but her shot was easily stopped by the goalkeeper.
• 42′: Nichelle Prince has the ball go off her foot in the attacking zone, another missed change to get a shot on target.
• 38′: Canada is spending more time in Germany’s end of the field but is not able to create many scoring chances.
• 35‘: With just about 10 minutes left until halftime both teams will get a cooling break with some hot weather in Marseille. Canada looks to get the ball in for a chance on goal.
• 27′: Canada has a chance on goal as Simi Awujo gets the ball into the box, but Fleming’s header curls back to the goalkeeper.
• 25′: Gilles and Buehl have a nice one-on-one battle as the Canadian defender has to force the ball out for a corner kick.
• 21′: Germany continues to find lanes to the goal as a nice setup on a diagonal run forces Jade Rose to knock the ball out for a corner kick. Rose got caught not checking the German player who was able to get position in front of her to receive the pass.
• 19′: Captain Jessie Fleming looked to have a chance on goal but was not able to come up with the ball.
• 18′: Big save from Sheridan!
The Germans have the Canadian defence on its heels but Kailen Sheridan is in a strong position to get the save in tight on Klara Buehl who looked to have a lot of net to shoot at.
• 10′: Close call as Canada’s defence gets caught looking disorganized, allowing Germany a prime scoring chance in the box, but the ball goes wide.
• 4′: Germany gets the corner as an attempt on goal gets knocked out wide.
• 3′: Germany presses early, but Vanessa Gilles thwarts that and propels the ball forward as Canada attempts a counterattack.
• 1′: Time for kickoff as Germany starts the game with possession.
• Starting 11 for Canada
• Head-to-head:
Germany has won 15 of its 17 encounters against Canada dating back to their first meeting vs. each other in 1994. Canada’s only other win in the series came during the group stage of the 2016 Rio Olympics, where the Germans went on to win the gold medal.
Canada is riding a 10-game unbeaten run at the Olympics. Coincidentally enough, its last defeat in the tournament came in 2016 when it lost 2-0 to Germany in the semifinals, as the Europeans exacted a measure of revenge for their group-stage loss to the Canadians.