Team Canada begins defence of Olympic women’s soccer gold with a win
They had to work hard for it, but Team Canada opened up the Paris 2024 women’s soccer tournament with a victory.
The reigning Olympic champions defeated New Zealand 2-1 on Thursday to begin group-stage play in Group A. Canada, ranked No. 8 in the world, came in as favourites against New Zealand (No. 28). But the underdogs’ defensive sturdiness caused plenty of headaches for the defending champs.
Indeed, despite controlling the early parts of the game, Canada got a shock to the system in the 13th minute. A well-worked corner kick gave New Zealand defender Mackenzie Barry the chance to drift a shot past Canadian goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan.
Defender Vanessa Gilles immediately rallied her Canadian teammates in search of a response. Canada applied copious attacking pressure thereafter but couldn’t produce clear-cut chances. In the 35th minute, Adriana Leon found space and hit a low shot on goal, but it was straight at goalkeeper Anna Leat.
Canada came close again in the 44th minute, with Nichelle Prince hitting a shot just over the crossbar. But in first-half stoppage time, the dam finally burst. A nice passing sequence culminated in Olympic debutante Cloé Lacasse blasting home her sixth career goal for Canada, sending the game into halftime at 1-1.
Canada kept their feet on the accelerator in the second half, adding attacking threats Janine Beckie and Jordyn Huitema to the mix in the 55th minute. But it was midfielder Quinn who whipped a header toward the corner of the goal in the 60th minute, forcing a fine diving save from Leat.
Beckie, who missed last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup due to injury, tested Leat with a solid long-range shot in the 70th minute. Two minutes later, Ashley Lawrence hit the side of the New Zealand net with her left-footed effort.
The relentless pressure finally paid off in the 79th minute. An excellent long ball from captain Jessie Fleming found second-half substitute Evelyne Viens, who slotted the ball into the corner for the winning goal.
Though Canada held onto the win, an 85th-minute yellow card to Kadeisha Buchanan could prove costly. Another caution for Buchanan in the coming games would mean a one-game suspension for the central defender. The team is already dealing with some injuries on defence as Jayde Riviere was unavailable for the opener and Sydney Collins, who was initially named to the squad, suffered a left leg fracture in training just before the Games.
But the on-field victory should hopefully help the team move past the controversy of the last few days. Two staff members were sent home and head coach Bev Priestman sat out Thursday’s game after a drone was flown over New Zealand training sessions.
“It’s important to get those points to start the tournament with,” said Viens, who scored the winning goal. “It’s such a quick turnaround.”
Up next for Canada is a difficult match against the hosts France (Sunday, 12 pm PT/3 pm ET), then a matchup with Colombia (July 31, 12 pm PT/3 pm ET) to close out the preliminary round.
“Now we’re looking forward to playing against France,” said Viens. “We know they’re a quality team so we’re going to focus on the next step.”
The 12-team competition consists of three groups. The top two teams in each group, plus the top two third-place finishers, advance to the quarterfinals. Canada has won medals at the past three Games, but a highly competitive field in Paris means there is no easy path to the podium for any team.