2024 Olympic Games Finals Review and Canada Scandal
First Round Group Review
FIFA came down swiftly on Canada Soccer after French authorities arrested a Canadian WNT analyst for using a drone to spy on the Football Ferns ahead of their first Olympic Games Finals Group A match on July 25 in Saint-Etienne. Canada won the game 2-1 in front of only 2,674 fans but were penalized six points in the tournament by FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) before their second game, a last minute 2-1 win over favorites France. Thus, the undefeated reigning champions had 0 points after two wins in two games and hoped that a win over Colombia would be enough to give them one of the two available third place qualification places for the quarterfinals (see more below).
Against France, Vanessa Gilles scored the winner in the 102nd minute in stoppage time, her fifth goal overall for Canada. Midfielder Jessie Fleming scored in the 58th minute, her 20th international goal. For France, Marie-Antoinette Katoto (25) scored in the 42nd minute, her third goal of the Olympic Games after scoring two in France’s 3-2 win over Colombia. France was rather fortunate to hang on for the win against the South Americans, after being up 3-0 by the 42nd minute. Linda Caicedo (19) of Real Madrid was a constant annoyance to France with her lightning-quick runs down the left wing but a red card to Mayra Ramirez (24) of Chelsea with seven minutes left, for an unnecessary light push on her opponents’ back, left Colombia handicapped as they searched for a third goal.
In Group B, in their first matches, the U.S. and Germany both won 3-0, over Zambia and Australia respectively. The U.S. then looked rampant in defeating the Germans 4-1 on July 28, while Australia kept their quarterfinals hopes alive with an astounding 6-5 comeback win over Zambia—which saw NWSL-based forwards Barbra Banda score three goals and Racheal Kundananji chip in with two for Zambia. Banda scored her first goal within the first 40 seconds of play in the match.
The Matildas fought back from 5-2 down, scoring four times in the last half hour of the match, with Steph Catley (30) of Arsenal scoring twice. Zambian goalkeeper Ngambo Musole (26) of ZESCO United had a nightmare of a second half as she let a straight-forward save go through her hands from Steph Catley’s shot in the second half, after being charged with an own goal on an earlier Matilda goal in the half. Michele Heyman (Canberra United) grabbed the winner in the 90th minute as she continues to write a Hollywood script after being called back into the national team after a six year absence (see: The Week in Women's Football: Hayes enjoys impressive start with USA; Australia do China double - TribalFootball.com). Banda set an Olympic Games Finals record with her third hat-trick, which came in only five matches—a stunning achievement.
In Group C, Spain won its first two games, 2-1 over Japan—a nice revenge win as Japan defeated Spain 4-0 in their final first round group game last summer at the 2023 Women’s World Cup Finals for their only loss on the road to capturing the world title—and 1-0 over Nigeria, when Alexia Putellas scored on a tremendous free kick with five minutes left in the second half. Nigeria lost its first game to Brazil 1-0 while Japan defeated Brazil 2-1 in their second game in a very close group.
Both of Japan’s goals in the latter match came in second half injury time, with Saki Kumagai (33) of AS Roma of Italy scoring in the 92nd minute and then, four minutes later, Momoko Tanikawa (19) of Bayern Munich of Germany—but who played with Rosengard of Malmo, Sweden on loan this Spring—netted the winner on a strike from long range that goalkeeper Lorena (27) of Gremio in Brazil could only watch sail over her head and into the net. Lorena was outstanding in the match, thwarting the seemingly constant Japanese attacks, including saving a penalty kick at the end of the first half.
In the third set of games on July 31, there was high drama in Marseille in Group B as the U.S. always looked in control in a 2-1 win over Australia, but Australia needed at least a tie to ensure a quarterfinal berth, as two of the third place teams would advance. Manchester City center-back Alanna Kennedy scored in the 92nd minute and, with five more minutes of extra time remaining, Australia continued to attack the U.S. goal and Kennedy narrowly missed scoring again right in front of the American goal near the end of the match.
However, the U.S. did miss earlier chances, with Lindsey Horan and Sophia Smith both hitting the woodwork and were deserved winners. The Americans won their group with three wins and nine points and only allowed two goals while scoring nine. Canada’s third win in Group A (1-0 over Colombia) earned them second place on goal difference (+3 vs. 0), with Colombia (Group A), Brazil (Group C) and Australia (Group B) all finishing third with three points, but Australia was out on goal difference (0 vs. -2 vs. -3, respectively).
After Canada was docked six points for spying with a drone, Vanessa Gilles (Olympique Lyon of France on loan from Angel City FC of the NWSL) scored the game-winning goal in Canada’s 1-0 third group match victory over Colombia, as Canada was undefeated in their group and made the quarterfinals in second place.
Gilles said after the match about their undefeated run in the Group Stage after the point deduction: “It would have been so easy for us to go our separate ways. For us to say like, ‘What’s even the point?’ But we held onto that slim chance of us being able to (advance) and it fueled us to go forward… It’s been a week and a half, but it feels like years that we’ve been here… We really don’t understand and we haven’t got any explanations as to why six points (were deducted)… The chances were stacked against us but we pulled through. We still believe the sanction was unfair, unjust and unprecedented.”
In the Colombia game, Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns) won her 135th cap, Nichelle Prince (Houston Dash) made her 100th national team appearance. Julia Grosso (who will join the Chicago Red Stars after the Olympics on a three year contract after two seasons with Juventus of Italy where she scored 9 goals in 50 matches) won her 65th cap.
For the U.S., they have looked very good in France and are building nicely back to the veneer of invincibility that they held for years when they won two consecutive WWCs in 2015 and 2019—they lost only six matches in 110 games (not including an Olympic Games Quarterfinals match on penalties to Sweden at the 2016 games in Rio).
They have had the same number of losses (six) from 2020 through 2024 to date in 84 matches (not including a 2023 WWC quarterfinal defeat on penalties again to Sweden) and they still play a lot of teams at home that are definitely not at the same level like Uzbekistan, Ireland and Nigeria. We thought Emma Hayes was the right selection for the U.S. job but needed time to institute her game strategy and style; at this point that process has exceeded expectations, as most felt that—if they didn’t medal—Hayes would get a pass as she only had about a month and a half with her team. She has done very well with the American side indeed.
Lindsey Horan talked about what Hayes has brought to the team in such a short time: “It’s the calmness. She’s implemented so many things and coached us in a way that we’ve really needed. But the calmness and the trust that she has for us and the confidence she has in us, it’s such a nice feeling for a player and for a team. You see that on the sideline. You see the few little tactical adjustments every single game or during the game, at halftime. All those things. You get so much trust and confidence from that.
"I think that’s what we’ve needed… We keep talking about this new identity, this new style, this new sense of confidence. Playing within the identify and the structure but also exploiting these individual strengths. I think you see it in our front three (Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman, who combined for eight goals in four games, including in the 1-0 quarterfinal win over Japan in overtime from a fine Trinity Rodman blast at the end of first half injury time—with Swanson and Rodman both scoring three goals). I think you see it in our attack. You see it in the way we’re finding chances, and quality chances.”
Hayes downplayed her extraordinary impact on the U.S. side when she said: “I just set them up. I give them structure, I give them organization, I give them game plans. I create an environment as always — I did it at Chelsea — where people want to be. One with a growth mindset. And we have a growth mindset.”
For Australia, anything short of a Gold Medal Game appearance was likely to result in head coach Tony Gustavsson’s contract not being renewed and he ultimately resigned a few days after the Matildas were eliminated at the Group Stage. The native of Sweden was never fully embraced Down Under to begin with, due to controversial player selections—most notably not considering in-form striker Lisa De Vanna for the last Olympic Finals in 2021 in Japan—not moving to Australia (though to be fair he was hired during COVID and Australia had strict national and state rules for two years) and questionable tactical moves during games.
Making the semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 was a first for the nation as was last summer’s run to the WWC semifinals as a co-host nation, which lit a fire for football in general in the nation, giving the Matildas huge support and helping to take the women’s game (and even football in general) to new levels. Gustavsson has been linked with jobs at home in Sweden but he was an assistant coach to American coach Jill Ellis during those two WWC wins in 2015 and 2019 and could rejoin her in San Diego, as the NWSL’s Wave is looking for a permanent coach after firing Casey Stoney earlier this summer (see our column last month: The Week in Women's Football: NWSL club review (P2); Stoney axed; Haracic makes Bosnia call - TribalFootball.com).
In Group C, the key moment of the third group match between Spain and Brazil was Marta’s foul on Spanish captain Olga Carmona just before half-time. It was not malicious in intent by Marta (38), who went into a 50-50 ball with a high kick as Carmona (24) was bending to head the ball, and ended up kicking her in the head right in front of the referee. Marta was immediately shown a red card and left the match in tears.
Brazil lost 2-0 to Women’s World Cup holders Spain, on goals by Athenea del Castillo in the 68th minute and Alexia Putellas in the 107th minute. The extra time session had lots of breaks for Brazil suddenly falling down to the turf in pain—something that they never seem to tire of and has bit them in the past, notably in their penalty kick loss to the U.S. in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Women’s World Cup when Megan Rapino launched a long cross to Abby Wambach, who headed the ball into the net to tie the score in the third minute of injury time, after Brazil again kept delaying the game by falling down in pain for seemingly no reason and the referee just kept adding more time, which rescued the U.S., and they advanced to the semifinals on penalty kicks. With their defeat, Brazil was in grave danger of missing out as a third place qualifier but ultimately narrowly made it through to the knock-out stage after Australia’s 2-1 loss to the U.S.
It would have been a really sad way to see Marta close out her wonderful international career—arguably she was the first global star of the women’s game—in her 200th cap; she has scored international 119 goals and was appearing in her sixth Olympics. With Australia losing and a -3 goal difference, the 2027 WWC hosts were given a life-line but Marta would miss the quarterfinals and her side would need to make the semifinals to see her play again in the Gold Medal or Bronze matches, which seemed a tough ask as they next played home side France in Nantes. Brazil made the Olympic Games Final in 2004 and 2008, winning the Silver Medal both time after losses to the U.S. Marta has said that this would be her last international tournament. Marta (38) could reconsider however, given that Brazil was named recently as the host nation for the 2027 WWC for what would be her seventh Women’s World Cup Finals.
She would be 41 if she made herself eligible for selection and was added to the roster. If she keeps having the hugely positive effect that she has had this season in the NWSL on the first place and undefeated Orlando Pride over the next few years in such a difficult league, don’t discount her return to the national team and another World Cup Finals. Regardless, as a global icon of the game, whether she is on the field or in a promotional role, she is vital to the success of the next Women’s World Cup.
In the other Group C final game, Japan finished with six points in second place behind Spain (9 points) after defeating Nigeria (who finished last with 0 points) 3-1 at the same time in Nantes, with Maika Hamano (20) of Chelsea in the WSL but who also played last season on loan with Hammarby of Sweden, Mina Tanaka (30)—who was born in Thailand and is joining the NWSL’s Utah Royals from INAC Kobe after the Olympics—and Hikaru Kitagawa (27) of INAC Kobe scoring their goals and Jennifer Echegini (23)—who grew up in the Netherlands and England played in the U.S. at Mississippi State and Florida State Universities and this spring with Juventus of Italy but has transferred to Paris Saint-Germain for the 2024-25 season—scoring once for Nigeria, who were very competitive at the Olympics but went home with zero points.
Unfortunately, this could have been the last game for Nigeria’s American head coach Randy Waldrum, who has put up with three plus years of poor decisions, late pay and even caustic personal comments from Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials. Of course, the NFF will probably blame Waldrum for the lack of points but, following on from Swedish head coach Thomas Dennerby at the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, Waldrum added new talent to the side and took them to the Round of 16 in Australia/New Zealand last year, losing narrowly to England, (4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 tie) and defeating Australia 3-2 in Brisbane in the Group Stage, finishing undefeated with five points. He is still the head coach at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has done very well with a program that has been borderline dreadful for decades. Will Waldrum be interested in another national team job—he took Trinidad and Tobago to the 2015 Finals in Canada before the side had a late let-down in the final seconds of the second leg of an Intercontinental playoff qualifiers versus Ecuador?
Waldrum could do wonders with a federation that actually supports their women’s side and invests in it and trust their coaches. Years ago, Canada would have been one of these teams and since Priestman is clearly not coming back to coach the Maple Leafs (see below)—Waldrum has applied for the Canada job in the past—but Canada Soccer probably is below T&T and Nigeria right now in terms of organizational control and management. Could Waldrum be attracted to the Australia job or even a job in a growing European national team like Serbia, Czech Republic or rebuilding a team like Norway, that has fallen on hard times? Time will tell but Randy Waldrum is in a position where he can pick and choose what he wants to do in the future and he has earned that right.
Quarterfinals Review
In the quarterfinals on August 3, the U.S. defeated Japan 1-0 in overtime, Spain fought back heroically from a 2-0 deficit late to a very well-prepared and solid Colombia, who frequently had nine players in defense—not including the goalkeeper—but still managed dangerous attacks to build their lead—following goals by Chelsea’s Mayra Ramirez (12’) and Leicy Santos of the Washington Spirit (52’) before substitute Jenni Hermoso of Tigres UANL of Monterrey finally broke through to score in the 79th minute. Irene Paredes of Barcelona tied the match in the 97th minute for Spain.
Thirty minutes of overtime saw no more goals and Spain won 4-2 on penalties as Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll of Barcelona saved the first attempt by Catalina Usme of Pachuca of Mexico and then Liana Salazer of Independiente Santa Fe of Bogota (who played at the University of Kansas, and professionally in Finland, China and Brazil) skied her third attempt.
Germany and Canada also went to penalty kicks after a scoreless 120 minutes. German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger (33), who plays in the U.S. for Gotham FC in New Jersey, saved penalties by Ashley Lawrence (Chelsea) and Adriana Leon (Aston Villa) on consecutive attempts (second and third) and then saved Janine Beckie’s (Portland Thorns) attempt but it dribbled off of her arm into the net. Berger then stepped up to bury her attempt past Kaelin Sheridan (San Diego Wave) to win the match and send Germany to a rematch versus the Americans—who defeated them 3-1 in the first round.
For Canada in the match against Germany, a number of players set personal marks for international appearances: Jordyn Huitema (85) of the Seattle Reign, Gabrielle Carle (50), Vanessa Gilles (45), Jade Rose (25) of Harvard University and Simi Awujo (20) of the University of Southern California. Canada just missed making the semifinals for the first time in four Olympics but will go home as Canada Soccer tries to figure out an ethical path ahead for the program after the spying scandal (see more below). All credit must go the Canadian players who amazingly fought back from a six point group deficit, finished second and left the tournament undefeated—respect.
Brazil knocked out host side France 1-0 in the quarterfinals with a late Gabi Portilho (Corinthians) goal with eight minutes left in the game, but then had to play over 15 minutes of added time in the second half. In our column last month: we had projected that the semifinalists would be Spain, Germany and France, and one from the Americas (either the U.S., Canada and Brazil). We were correct on Spain and Germany—though just barely on penalties—but Brazil is in over France and joins the U.S. as the second team from the Americas.
We do wonder on the effect of playing overtime for the U.S., Spain and Germany—plus significant added time during the matches—sometimes over 15 minutes in the second half. Keep in mind that there are only two rest days during the Olympics (except for the Final for which teams have three days off between games) compared with three days in most FIFA championships between all games.
Semifinals Review
In the semifinals on August 6, we were left with an Olympic Final between two nations from the Americas, as the U.S. and Brazil won their matches, 1-0 in overtime over Germany and a 4-2 shocker over Spain, respectively. The U.S. used a 95th minute goal from Sophia Smith, who accelerated to beat her defender to the ball and put a long shot past Germany (and Gotham FC) goalkeeper Ann Katrin-Berger. In the other match, Spain was behind within five minutes when goalkeeper Cata Coll’s kick into play near her goal bounced off of defender Irene Paredes and into the goal. Spain’s defense was badly exposed just before half-time by Brazil’s Gabi Portilho who scored a second Jenni Hermoso started the game for Spain after subbing in for the quarterfinal fightback against Colombia and had the most dangerous chances but Aitana Bonmati was surrounded by defenders at times and couldn’t break through.
Spain looked vulnerable in defense, particularly in the second half, and some of that may be exhaustion from the condensed schedule of the Olympics and having to go to overtime in their quarterfinal. Adriana made it 3-0 for Brazil in the 71st minute. Their 2023 WWC star forward Salma Paralluelo contributed to two late goals—the first counted as an own goal off of Brazil’s Duda Sampaio, while Kerolin—just returned to play from a year off with an ACL injury with the North Carolina Courage—scored the fourth for Brazil late on a breakaway, slotting the ball between Cata Coll’s legs.
Bronze Medal Match Review
Spain, which made its Olympic Games Finals debut a year on from winning the Women’s World Cup for the first time and earlier this year won the 2023-24 inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League—which were remarkable achievements—then lost to Germany 1-0 in Lyon in the third place match in the battle of UEFA giants. Giulia Gwinn (25) of Bayern Munich scored from the penalty spot with about 25 minutes left in the match, after goalkeeper Cata Coll had fouled an attacker for a ball at the top of the penalty area. Alexis Putellas of Barcelona had her 98th minute penalty saved by Berger who read the attempt to her left and Spain was left without a medal.
Berger was an unqualified star of these games and has had a great first season with Gotham FC so far in NWSL; she is definitely one to watch with her club and national team. This was Germany’s fourth Olympic Bronze Medal—after 2000, 2004 and 2008 games, along with their Gold Medal from 2016 in Rio—in six finals (while not qualifying in 2012 and 2016 and not making out of the group stage at the first tournament in 1996 in Atlanta)—and the second coming (to the women’s national team after a short interim role in 2018) of veteran coach Horst Hrubresch (73) has been superb—adding to their third place finish in the 2023-24 inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League since replacing Martina Voss-Tecklenburg after her side was eliminated at the 2023 WWC at the Group Stage. This tournament was a sign of good things to come for Germany in the build up to the next Nations League tournament and ultimately the 2027 WWC Qualifiers and (likely) Finals.
For Spain, fourth place in their first Olympics would ordinarily be considered a success but not for a team that is reigning World Champions at the senior, U-20 and U-17 level. I’m sure the Spanish side is disappointed and whether Spanish WNT head coach Montse Tome will survive is a key question; the Spanish Football Federation is still cleaning up years of abuse and poor treatment of their women and how they view Tome’s short time in charge since replacing Jorge Vilda after the WWC Finals last year is hard to predict. A key component is what the players think about her and her long-term allegiance to Vilda. Spain, so good at times during these games, was stretched to the breaking point in consecutive games by South American competition and may want to work on that through friendlies during the next few years ahead of the 2027 WWC—in Brazil.
Gold Medal Match Review
In the Final on August 10, the U.S. used a Mallory Swanson goal off of a Korbin Albert assist just before the hour mark to defeat Brazil 1-0 to win their fifth Olympic Games Gold Medal in eight tournaments. Brazil lost its third final—all to the Americans. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was crucial as Brazil outshot the U.S. (13 vs. 9 and 4 vs. 3 for shots on goal); she made two phenomenal saves, including one late in second half injury time with a reaction save on Brazil’s close range blast at the goal. Naeher finished with four shutouts in six matches. Swanson finished with four goals while Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith both had three. The Golden Boot went to France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto with five goals. The Gold Medal Game was Swanson’s 100th USWNT cap.
For Brazil, Marta returned from her two game suspension after her red card in the last group game against Spain and played in the last half hour of the match. They will be disheartened by their narrow loss in the Final but they should be very pleased with this tournament, particularly after narrowly qualifying for the knockout rounds, and leaves them with a great launching pad to the 2027 WWC at home.
After Pia Sundhage’s disastrous results last year in Australia/New Zealand where they were eliminated at the Group Stage, Arthur Elias’s short tenure as head coach was a revelation. Elias (43) was highly thought of at Audax/Corinthians from 2016-2023 and led the side to four CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores Femenina titles and five Brazilian Serie A1 championships; he has certainly enhanced his reputation during the past two weeks. The Brazilian Football Federation should do everything to support Elias and the WNT in the build-up to the next WWC and they have unearthed a special coach for their side.
What is the future for the Olympic Games Finals?
With the restriction in roster numbers (18) and the limited rest time and attention drawn to other events—plus with most games staged outside of Paris as historically been done for the other eight Olympic Games—we wonder if the days when an Olympic Games Finals was seen as another World Championship for women’s football are over. The Olympics helped to grow the game but in part, this edition forced the delay by a year of the Women’s African Cup for national teams. Will the Olympics Women’s competition become as secondary (and we are being kind) as the men’s U-23 (plus three overage players) tournament?
There need to be changes to this 12 teams Finals; on the men’s side FIFA did not want it to be seen as another World Cup. One change that could help would be going straight to penalty kicks after 90 minutes to decide deadlocks as the Copa America did in the U.S. this summer and in the past. It reduces the drama but saves the legs of players. Half of the eight knockout stage matches went to overtime—with two of those going to penalties. On the women’s side, there wasn’t that concern but maybe in future games, it becomes less important, though Los Angeles in 2028 will prioritize the USWNT’s involvement. It will be interesting to see what transpires.
Canada’s Drone Spying Case and the Far-reaching Implications
Canada’s drone spying scandal dominated headlines as the Olympics opened. Canada’s WNT analyst Joey Lombardi (43) was suspended before the first game and given a suspended eight-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to flying a drove over the Football Ferns closed training session in St. Etienne. Lombardi reported to assistant coach Jasmine Mander and both were banned from all soccer activities for a year by FIFA.
Mander was hired in 2021 as a Performance Analyst and, at the age of 15, made her debut in the Canadian youth national teams’ program in 2010. She was part of the U-15 and U-17 Women’s National Youth Teams from 2010 to 2012 and was the captain of the University of British Columbia Women’s Soccer Team that won the 2015 CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) National Championship.
In addition, head coach Bev Priestman on her own decided to not be on the bench for the New Zealand match. Priestman was an assistant coach to England’s WNT which finished in fourth place at the 2019 Women’s World Cup before landing the Canada job in 2020. Priestman, who took over the Canadian women in November of 2020, signed a contract extension through the 2027 Women’s World Cup this past January after previously working on a rolling contract. She then was suspended by FIFA from football for a year while the team was assessed a six point deduction in the first round of the Olympics tournament, while Canada Soccer was fined US$226,000, which is crippling to a football association that has of late been scraping the carpets looking for coins to fund their programs.
FIFA explained in a statement that the sanctions were for violating: “the applicable FIFA regulations in connection with its failure to ensure the compliance ... with the prohibition on flying drones over any training sites. The officials were each found responsible for offensive behavior and violation of the principles of fair play.”
Canada Soccer CEO Kevin Blue said in a statement: “Canada Soccer is disappointed with the impact of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s decision (for the points deduction) on our athletes. We are exploring options to appeal on the basis that it is excessively punitive towards our Women’s National Team players,” particularly as there has been no suggestion whatsoever that there were involved in the styling.
Did they benefit from the knowledge gained from “Spy Gate”? That is to be determined as the scope of the spying activity is still under investigation. Still, penalizing a team six out of a possible nine points during a tournament’s group stage is unprecedented.
What I couldn’t understand is why Canada would spy on New Zealand—a very limited team due to a small squad base—particularly as Priestman used to be a Football Ferns assistant coach with John Herdman when he led the Ferns WNT there from 2006-2011, before he came to Canada to coach the WNT (from 2011-2018 and then switched to the men’s team through 2023). In Qatar in 2022, Herdman led Canada’s men’s side to their first World Cup since 1986 in Mexico (this author attended Canada’s first game against France in Leon, Mexico) and now is the head coach at MLS’ Toronto FC.
Priestman followed him to coach in Canada. Then more news came out that there were incidents of Canada spying on opponents’ men’s and women’s national teams in the past, dating back to 2019, when Herdman was still heading the Canadian women. New men’s head coach Jesse Marsch, an American who formerly coached at Leeds United in England and took Canada to a surprising semifinal in this summer’s Copa America—where they lost to Argentina 2-0 and then bizarrely threw away the Bronze Medal late by surrendering an injury time goal to the South Americans in a 2-2 tie before losing on penalties 4-3 (though their performance was rightly hailed as above expectations and important with their co-host role of the World Cup in two years’ time)—according to my sources, put an end to the practice for his team when he heard about the “spying tradition” after joining Canada Soccer in May of this year.
TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead reported that, according to his sources, coaching staff and contractors working with Canada’s men’s and women’s national soccer teams were engaged for years in efforts to film the closed-door training sessions of their opponents—both men’s and women’s sides—including during the women’s Gold Medal winning Olympic Games Finals tournament in 2021, with two of Japan’s closed training sessions at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics leading up to Canada’s 1-1 draw against the host nation in their opening group match.
The report also stated that individuals hired on contract were told that taking film was in their job description and, if they did not do this, they could lose their job with the Canada Soccer. Westhead described a situation where a contractor was set to travel to Australia for the Women’s World Cup last summer. Once their role, which included recording opposition sessions, was explained, the individual stepped away and Canada sent someone else.
Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive, David Shoemaker, said: “There appears to be information that could tarnish that Olympic performance in Tokyo. It makes me ill, it makes me sick to my stomach, to think that there could be something that calls into question … one of my favourite Olympic moments in history. I know Canada Soccer will investigate all of this fully, including Tokyo. (We’ll) make sure they get to the bottom of it.”
This news brings into question whether or not Canada won Olympic Gold in Tokyo fairly and what, if any, effect the illegal scouting information had in their Gold Medal win three years ago beyond the Japan match, if verified. The danger is that, as the investigation goes on, will they have to vacate that Gold Medal? Canada has won two Olympic Bronze medals and the Gold in 2021 in their last three Olympics, a tremendous story which has helped to put and maintain the Women’s National Team on a huge platform in Canada, where the men’s team has always tried to keep up. Unfortunately, this spying scandal will diminish those achievements of marvelous players who have always overachieved and put together a glorious run at international competitions.
Canada Soccer did file an appeal for the points deduction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but it was denied just prior to their third match against Colombia, so at least Canada knew that they had to win the game to keep their hopes alive of making the quarterfinals. Captain Jessie Fleming said: “I think it is incredibly unfair to penalise the players in this way. The players had absolutely no control over the situation. I think it has brought us closer (together). It feels like us against the world right now.”
Former captain Christine Sinclair, who retired from the Canadian national team at the end of last season, added: “It’s unfortunate that the players of our national team have had to play through condemnable actions by some of their staff as they attempt to defend our goal medal; actions players have no control over. I want to be clear that having been a national team player for 23 years, we were never shown or discussed drone footage in team or individual meetings I’ve been present for.”
English native Andy Spence (41), who previously coached Everton’s women’s team for six years over two stints and joined Priestman’s staff in 2022, stepped in as interim head coach and the players responded to him. Unfortunately, he had only two assistants with him since three members of the original six coaches were suspended. Canada defender Ashley Lawrence of Chelsea said about Spence: “I would say he’s like a light. He has very good energy and is very positive. I think he’s exactly what the team needs right now.”
Canada Soccer faced a WNT strike early in 2023 over pay equity and budget cuts but the players had to back off at the SheBelieves Cup in the U.S. after the CSA threatened to sue the players. A long term deal is still pending from a federation that at one point last year, seemed to be on the edge of bankruptcy. Their three men’s MLS teams—Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC and CF Montreal—even contributed about US$1.5 million—to fund the hiring of their new national team men’s head coach (Jesse Marsch) because the CSA didn’t have the funds available.
In other Canada news, defender Sydney Collins was replaced on the WNT for Paris after sustaining a fracture to her left leg on July 18 during a closed-door training match against Nigeria. The injury occurred during Collins’ first match back after recovering from a fracture to her right leg that she sustained in February of 2024. Defender Gabrielle Carle (Washington Spirit) replaced Collins on the roster, while Desiree Scott stepped into Carle’s spot as an accredited alternate athlete. Both Scott and Carle were members of Team Canada’s Gold Medal Team at Tokyo 2020. Carle, who also served as an alternate at Rio 2016, has 46 international appearances. Scott is a three-time Olympian who has played a vital role in Canada’s medal victory at Tokyo 2021 and Bronze medals at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and has 187 international caps.
U.S. WNT Updates
Former Aston Villa manager Carla Ward joined Emma Hayes’s staff for the U.S. at the Olympics Finals. Ward resigned as Villa manager, telling BBC Sport that she found it difficult to balance being a WSL manager and a mother. The two English coaches formed a strong friendship during their time in the WSL. Ward has been given a flexible role covering a range of areas including performance analysis and opposition scouting.
With the new rule for the Olympics that teams could replace injured players with alternates but then recall the injured player later, rather than them being out of the Games from that point on, as in the past. Rose Lavelle was a player that U.S. was worried about in terms of fitness (from injuries) but she did play in the first two matches. Reports are that she would have likely been replaced by Washington Spirit rookie Croix Bethune.
Germany Roster Update
New signing at Bayern Munich Lena Oberdorf was ruled out of the Olympics after suffering an ACL injury while playing for Germany in the Euro 2025 qualifiers. She completed a move from Wolfsburg to Bayern Munich recently but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Germany’s 3-0 win over Austria on July 16 in the Women’s EURO Qualifiers.
Oberdorf clashed with an opposition player and went down in pain and had to leave the match with about 20 minutes remaining. She was ruled out of the Olympics and will miss the first part of the 2024-25 Frauen-Bundesliga season as well.
The holding midfielder was closely linked with a move to reigning Women's Super League champions Chelsea earlier this year; however, Bayern Munich matched the €400,000 (US$429,000) release clause in her Wolfsburg contract.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey