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Emily Kaplan, ESPN
SAINT-ÉTIENNE, France — Vanessa Gilles nearly broke her hand when she punched a wall on Saturday night. FIFA had imposed unprecedented sanctions on Canada’s women’s national team following a drone spying scandal that captivated the world. Gilles knew she had nothing to do with the alleged fraud. Neither did her teammates.
“And they treat us like we’ve been caught doping,” Gilles said. Several players spent the night crying. They had trouble sleeping. It was stressful and emotional, and they had no control over the situation.
“Some were frozen, in shock,” Gilles says of her teammates. Everything was happening too fast.
But they had a game to play Sunday, against their home country, France, the world’s second-ranked team. Then the Canadians did what they say they do best: They trust each other. They are proud of who they are.
“That’s the way this team has always been,” veteran Jessie Fleming said. “We’ve always been gritty.”
Twelve minutes into the 13-minute stoppage, Gilles, the team’s center back, found herself with a juicy rebound in the box. The score was tied, 1-1. A draw would have essentially eliminated the Canadians from further advancement. That’s when, suddenly, things slowed down for once.
“I was able to say ‘Frame, frame, frame’ about 50 times before I hit the ball,” Gilles said. “It was truly a Matrix moment. My heart was on the floor the whole time… Sometimes the stars align when everything is going against you.”
Canada kept its Olympic hopes alive with a 2-1 upset of the French, and can now move on with a victory over Colombia on Wednesday. But nothing about the manner of their win Sunday — or anything that transpired in the previous 72 hours — seemed normal for the reigning gold medalists. Canada coach Bev Priestman and two assistants were suspended by FIFA for a year after New Zealand caught a drone flying over their closed-door training session before the Olympics began. An investigation is underway and could be far-reaching. ESPN’s Sam Borden reported Saturday that U.S. Soccer was also aware that Canada had attempted to spy on them in the past, and there have been other formal complaints.
The Canadian players who spoke out Sunday said they had nothing to do with the scandal and never profited from it. They came together Sunday because they only had each other.
“I’m so proud to be a Canadian today,” said goaltender Kailen Sheridan. “It’s really moving to see the determination and courage that everyone on our team showed and how they decided to step up today when we needed them most.”
At the final whistle, the team’s players stormed onto the field and hugged each other, a celebration one might see after a gold medal game. They went up to the stands to greet friends and family. Gilles was crying again, though she said this time it was a relief for the tears of joy.
Those close to the players – agents, friends and family members – asked not to be named, as so much remains uncertain. But one overriding sentiment was anger, for the players. From their perspective, they felt FIFA was punishing the wrong people, just when it would hurt them the most.
Sunday’s match was played in Saint-Étienne, a sleepy town with an industrial past in east-central France, about a four-hour train ride from Paris. The group stage of soccer is the region’s only Olympic event, so it was no surprise that the crowd was overwhelmingly rooting for the home team. The upper half of the 40,000-seat stadium was walled off, but the crowd of more than 20,000 was lively. The French players were greeted by roars and a sea of French flags waving in the wind. When the Canadians took the field, they were also cheered by Canadian fans scattered around the stadium.
Even though opposing fans and players had every reason to lash out at them — the scandal has engulfed the sports world, shrouding Canada’s program in uncertainty and shame — there was a sense of empathy for the players. The Canadians weren’t booed once Sunday. At one point, late in the second half, a small but audible “Let’s Go Canada” chant broke out.
Veteran Fleming said the team felt like it was an “us against the world” situation, but didn’t experience anything like that 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 definitely not, no problem there (in terms of sportsmanship).”
This empathy was extended by their fans.
“I feel really bad for the girls,” said Martin Collins, a Canadian fan from Ontario, dressed in red, who came to the game with his daughter. “It really seems like they didn’t know or take advantage of what was going on, but I guess we’ll find out. I didn’t know how it was going to be either, being here with everything going on. But the whole trip, people have been nothing but nice to us.”
The Canadian bench was noticeably smaller, with two fewer coaches. Andy Spence took over as interim coach for the tournament and, in his second game in charge of the women’s team, he made some bold moves. With the team fighting for Olympic survival, he kept both scorers from the first game against New Zealand (Cloé Lacasse and Evelyn Viens) on the bench for the entire first half.
Canada pressed hard after trailing 1-0 and got the equalizer through Fleming in the 58th minute. Viens was replaced in the 67th minute. Lacasse never made it onto the field.
The French dominated possession fairly consistently and did well to preserve the draw. The “Let’s Go Canada!” chant resumed in the dying moments of added time, however, as Spence’s team tried to create another chance. Gilles then did the rest.
“The Canadian fans that came out to see us just showed that we see ourselves as a supportive and loyal people, and that’s really important to us,” Sheridan said. “We needed that today.”