Canada’s women’s soccer team faced adversity before the Paris Olympics, during it and are now out. To their credit, they persevered and that was worth the plaudits.
The Germans ended their dreams of a fourth straight Olympic medal. Of course, it had to be on penalties. That’s the third time that Canada has lost on penalties this year. First, it was the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup and then the She Believes Cup (both to the US) and now in the Olympics.
So what’s next after the Paris Olympics for Canada? Where do they go from here?
Where were the goals at the Paris Olympics?
The biggest reason why Canada is out? No finish.
Canada scored five goals in four matches at the Paris Olympics. That’s not good enough.
Vanessa Gilles scored two of them. Remember, she’s a centre-back. A centre-back scored almost half of Canada’s goals in Paris. While that is great for Gilles, that is not good for Canada’s forwards.
After Gilles, Jesse Fleming was arguably Canada’s second-best player in Paris. She scored the tying goal against France before Gilles won it at the death. Evelyn Viens and Cloé Lacasse scored both goals in the opening match over New Zealand.
In the second half and extra time, Canada had what felt like a million chances to score. Canada had 22 total shots, five on target, and no goals. The most notable one was Adrianna Leon’s breakaway which was saved by Ann-Katrin Berger. It was a great save but Leon should’ve buried that.
Leon, Jordyn Huitema and Nichelle Prince were underwhelming. Though in some ways, the same could be said about Beckie, Viens and Lacasse too. There should’ve been goals.
Canada as a whole did do a good job creating chances but there were a lot of bad final touches and passes and instances where a pass was made instead of shooting.
There was a lack of killer instinct all tournament. Sure, that was a concern heading into the Olympics but it is an even bigger one after their quarterfinal. Where are the goals going to come from in the future? It’s up to the coaching staff to figure it out.
Speaking of…
The coaching staff
With head coach Bev Priestman getting sent home and being suspended from soccer activity for a year, her future is up in the air. Andy Spence took charge in the Paris Olympics and it seems he will do so until a new head coach is found.
The drone scandal was a bad look for Canada Soccer and the staff of the women’s team. The players didn’t deserve all that.
Of course, the fallout of the drone scandal will continue for months. As for Priestman, her future with the women’s team is cloudy. It seems unlikely that she will continue in her position.
At this point, it seems the Canadian women’s team will need a bunch of new staff members instead of just a head coach.
Moving on
Despite the quarterfinal exit, Canada did well given the six-point deduction. They fought hard every game and didn’t want to let anything stand in their way.
Canada will be back. The next World Cup in 2027 and will be held in Brazil. The next Olympics will be in 2028 and will be held in Los Angeles. Of course, there are other tournaments like the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, She Believes Cup and numerous friendlies before then.
There is a lot of time for Canada to bounce back. The post-Christine Sinclair era has gotten off to a poor start but there was always going to be growing pains. There also could be new names on Canada in the next tournament. Young talent needs to come in and we are already seeing a ton of potential in Simi Awujo, who had an excellent game against Germany.
“I think it’s a really galvanizing experience,” said Beckie on the Paris Olympics per Brendan Dunlop of Canadian Soccer Daily. “I’m closer to these 21 players than any teammates I’ve ever played with. This experience will no doubt make us stronger as individuals, as players. I think in the midst of all this you’ve seen some of Canada’s best performances as a team.”
Canada will hope to learn and grow from Paris. That includes the team, the staff and the federation. In the end, it wasn’t meant to be but Canada’s performances were strong. It will take some time but they’ll bounce back.
The hardest part of ending is starting again.