Gillies the hero again, with Whitby, London, teammates helping Canada advance in Olympic soccer

The odds were stacked against them and it seemed at times the world was against them too, but the Canadian women’s soccer team beat Columbia 1-0 Wednesday to run the table in Group A and reach the Olympic quarter-finals, despite being docked six points for a drone spying scandal.

And for the second straight game, the hero was Vanessa Gilles (Chateauguay, Quebec), with Gilles slipping between a couple of Colombia defenders to get her head on a perfect free kick from captain Jessie Fleming (London) in the 61st minute.

Canada was facing elimination for the second game in a row because of the sanctions and had to win out just to earn second in the group and advance.

“We’re not cheaters. We’re damn good players. We’re a damn good team. We have a damn good group and we proved that today.”

So said Gillies in a post-game interview after scoring in the 112th minute Sunday to give the defending Olympic gold medalists a dramatic 2-1 victory over host France in a match that was a must-win for Canada.

The pressure was the same Wednesday when the women played a much-improved Colombian squad (with a world class player in Real Madrid forward Linda Caceido) with everything, once again, on the line.

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And it was Gillies, once again, who was the hero. Gillies, who earned her starting position midway through Canada’s gold medal run in Tokyo in 2021 and has formed a solid centre back line (just three goals allowed in two games) with Kadeisha Buchanan and Jade Rose in Paris, coming through on the other end when it mattered most.

“The world might be against us, but Canada is sticking with us, and hopefully, we go all the way.”

So said Gilles post-game after the nervy but never in doubt win against Colombia, a win that sends the Canadians to a quarter-final match with fourth-ranked Germany.

Canada brought the game to Colombia but the result was far from easy, with the team having to withstand Colombia’s furious press and ‘keeper Kaileen Sheridan (Whitby) having to come up big in the 77th minute to preserve the clean slate after fighting through a hand injury suffered earlier in the half.

The entire squad showed considerable mental toughness to stay in their competitive bubble after all the hubris happening outside their control; a trait the players will need once again Saturday when they play their third straight elimination game in their quest to defend their gold medal.

Meanwhile, support in the media, on social channels and among Canadian soccer fans in particular, has quickly gathered steam, with the vibe now squarely behind the players:

• “Like we said, we #NeverBackDown.” – CANWNT
• “Dear FIFA, you can stick your 6-point deduction where the sun don’t shine. There’s a gold medal to be won.” – Rachel
• “What a response from Canada.” – Tim
• “Against all odds, the #CANWNT at the Olympics is where magical things happen.” – Josh
• “They started this tournament having to defend their character in interviews. They’re in the quarter-finals after proving it on the pitch.” – Kara

Canada-Germany goes Saturday at 1 p.m.

Other matches have USA vs Japan, Spain vs Colombia (who qualified as a third-place finisher) and France vs Brazil.

The semi-finals kick-off Tuesday.

Photo Canada Soccer