No. 5 USWNT and No. 8 CanWNT clinch quarter-final berths at Paris Olympics
The GIST: The Olympic women’s soccer quarter-finals (QF) are set — and you can get in on the action by joining our 100% free bracket. Sign up and scroll on, the fun has just begun.
Who’s through: The No. 5 USWNT and No. 8 CanWNT are both through to the knockouts, with the Americans winning Group B after taking down No. 12 Australia 2–1 yesterday and the defending gold medalist Canadians overcoming FIFA’s six-point deduction, topping No. 22 Colombia 1–0 to finish second in Group A.
- Joining them in the knockouts are No. 1 Spain, No. 2 France, No. 4 Germany, No. 7 Japan, No. 9 Brazil, and Colombia.
- Unfortunately for Brazil, they’ll be without their fearless leader Marta for Saturday’s QF match against France after the soon-to-be-retiring captain was issued a red card yesterday, rendering her ineligible for the next game.
CanWNT showcase grit after damning FIFA report: For the second time in program history, Canada won all three of their Olympic group stage matches, an even more impressive feat considering the six-point deduction the team pushed through following Dronegate.
- Led by clutch goal scorer Vanessa Gilles, the resilient squad will face Germany in a 1 p.m. ET QF match on Saturday.
- Meanwhile, a shocking FIFA report into Canada’s culture of spying revealed damning evidence that CanWNT head coach Bev Priestman was not only aware of the team’s drone usage, but wrote that the practice of spying on opponents “can be the difference between winning and losing.” Terrible.
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