Proud Canada keeps faint Olympic hopes alive amid spying scandal

SAINT-ÉTIENNE, France — Vanessa Gilles nearly broke her hand Saturday night when she slammed into a wall. FIFA had imposed unprecedented sanctions on the Canadian women’s national team over a drone spying scandal that has gripped the world. Gilles knew she had nothing to do with the alleged cheating. Neither did her teammates.

“And they treat us as if we were caught doping,” Gilles said. Many players spent the night crying. They had trouble sleeping. It was stressful and emotional, and they had no control over the situation.

“Some of them were freezing, in shock,” Gilles said of her teammates. Everything was moving too fast.

But they had a game to play on Sunday — against the home team, France, the second-best team in the world. Then Canada did what they said they did best: They trusted each other. They were proud of who they were.

“That’s the way this team has always been,” veteran Jessie Fleming said. “We’ve always been determined.”

Twelve minutes into 13 minutes of injury time, Gilles — the team’s center back — found himself with a juicy rebound in the penalty area. The score was tied, 1-1. A draw would have effectively barred the Canadians from advancing. It was then, suddenly, that things calmed down once and for all.

“I could repeat ‘Just frame it, frame it, frame it’ about 50 times before I hit the ball,” Gilles said. “It was definitely a Matrix moment. My heart was on the floor the whole time … sometimes the stars align when everything is against you.”

Canada kept its Olympic hopes alive with a 2-1 win that stunned the French, and can now move on with a victory over Colombia on Wednesday. But nothing about the manner of their victory on Sunday — or what transpired in the 72 hours beforehand — felt normal to the reigning gold medalists. Canada’s coach, Bev Priestman, and two assistants have been banned by FIFA for a year after New Zealand spotted a drone flying over their private training session before the Olympics. An investigation is underway that could be far-reaching. ESPN’s Sam Borden reported Saturday that US Soccer was also aware of Canada’s past attempts to spy on them, and there have been other official complaints.

Canadian players who spoke on Sunday insisted they had nothing to do with the scandal and never profited from it. They joined forces on Sunday because they only had each other.

“I’m just so proud to be Canadian today,” goalie Kailen Sheridan said. “It’s really emotional to see the fight, the determination, the never-give-up attitude that everyone in our camp decided to have and decided to show up today when we needed it the most.”

At the final whistle, the team stormed onto the field and charged at each other — a celebration you might see after a gold medal match. They climbed into the stands to greet their friends and family. Gilles cried again, though she said it was a relief from the tears of joy.

Those close to the players – agents, friends and family – did not want to be quoted because so much is still uncertain. But there was one overwhelming sentiment: anger, for the players. From their perspective, it felt like FIFA was punishing the wrong people, at the very moment it would hurt them most.

Sunday’s game was held in Saint-Étienne, a quiet town with an industrial past in east-central France — about a four-hour train ride from Paris. The soccer group stage is the only Olympic event in the region, so it was no surprise that the crowd was overwhelmingly supportive of the home team. The upper tier of the 40,000-seat stadium was cordoned off, but the crowd of more than 20,000 was lively. The French players were greeted by roars and a sea of ​​waving French flags. When the Canadians took the field, they too were cheered — by Canadian fans scattered throughout the stadium.

While opponents and players alike would have had every reason to bristle — this scandal has engulfed the sports world, shrouding the Canadian program in uncertainty and some embarrassment — there was a sense of empathy for the players. Not once were the Canadians booed on Sunday. At one point, late in the second half, a small but noticeable “Let’s Go Canada” chant even broke out.

Veteran Fleming said the team feels like it’s in an “us against the world” situation, but they haven’t noticed it on the field.

“It was respectful,” Fleming said. “They’re a good team and I definitely feel like there was respect between us. It’s always a good game against them. But absolutely no, no issues there (in terms of sportsmanship).”

That empathy was also shown by their fans.

“I just feel bad for the girls,” said Martin Collins, a Canadian fan from Ontario, decked out in red, who had come to the game with his daughter. “It really seems like they didn’t know or didn’t benefit from it, but I guess we’ll find out. I didn’t know what it would be like to be here with everything that’s going on. But this whole trip, people have been nothing but nice to us.”

The Canadian bench was noticeably thinner, with two coaches less. Andy Spence has been named interim coach for the tournament and made bold choices in his second game in charge of the women. As the team fought for its Olympic survival, he kept the two scorers from the first game against New Zealand (Cloé Lacasse and Evelyn Viens) on the bench for the entire first half.

And yet Canada came out of the blocks strong after trailing 1-0, getting an equalizer from Fleming in the 58th minute. Viens was substituted in the 67th minute. Lacasse never came on the field.

The French dominated possession fairly consistently and looked set to hold on to the equaliser. The cry of “Let’s Go Canada!” returned late in injury time, however, as Spence’s team tried to seize one more chance. Gilles then did the rest.

“The Canadian fans that showed up for us just proved how we see ourselves in our country, that togetherness and that loyalty, and that’s so important to us,” Sheridan said. “We needed that today.”