PREVIEW – Canada v Germany is probably the most exciting of the four quarter-final matchups. Germany, who won the 2016 Summer Olympics, and Canada, who won the 2020 Summer Olympics, face each other in another major tournament on August 3, 2024.
Canada v Germany – A Battle of Two Heavyweight Teams
Canada (5-0-0)
The Canadian women’s national soccer team is one of only three teams to finish the group stage with three wins. The only other time the CANWNT accomplished this feat was in the 2016 Summer Olympics, which included beating traditional women’s soccer nations like Australia and Germany. This is what Janine Beckie said in Chantel Jennings and Meg Linehan’s Athletic article:
The defending Olympic champions have made the quarter-final stage of the competition despite the odds being against them. If they did not win all three games against New Zealand, France, and Colombia, they would not have made the knockout stage of the Summer Olympics. Also, whatever people have an opinion on with the drone issue, it is not the player’s fault, and to their credit, they have overcome every obstacle in their way so far.
As a result, they have finished second in the group with three points (considering the six-point deduction), which means that they will face Germany, who is the runner-up of Group B.
Vanessa Gilles, one of their best defenders and centre-backs, surprisingly leads the team with two goals scored. Kadeisha Buchanan and Jade Rose are also fantastic players who can defend some of the best in the world. Canada has only conceded two goals in the tournament, which is the second-best of all the Olympic teams in the group stage part of the competition.
Jessie Fleming, the captain of the team, has been fantastic, being a part of four of Canada’s five goals. Ashley Lawrence has also done a great job in linking with players with excellent scoring opportunities in all her games in the Olympics.
Germany (3-0-2)
Germany is an interesting team when looking at their past five games. The games they have lost, they have lost badly when facing the USWNT, where they lost 4-1, and in a UEFA European Women’s Championship game against Iceland, where they lost 3-0. However, in the other three games Germany has won, including two of the teams at the Olympics, which they have won by at least three goals.
The most impressive win for the Germans might be their 3-0 win over Australia, a team that made the semi-finals of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and earned a top-four finish in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This is what Germany head coach, Horst Hrubesch, said about the game against Canada (Source: dpa of Yahoo Sports):
“The task is difficult enough. But we are looking forward to it,” said Hrubesch after Germany’s 4-1 win over Zambia in Saint-Étienne on Wednesday. “On the one hand, they had a few problems here. But they won all three games,” Hrubesch said.
Germany has scored eight goals in the tournament, which is the second-most of any team in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Their leading goal-scorer in the Olympics is Lea Schüller, who has scored three goals in the tournament. She played a big role in the lopsided wins against Zambia and Australia. Like Canada, they have depth with many different goal-scorers on their team as they have six different goal-scorers on their team.
Head-to-Head and How To Watch The Game
READ MORE: The 2024 CanWNT Olympic Roster Reveal Includes Cloé Lacasse
Both teams most notably met twice in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Canada defeated Germany in a group stage game before Germany returned the favour in the semi-final round of the 2016 Summer Olympics. When looking at their past nine games, Germany has won seven of those nine games, including a 2-1 win in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. However, Canada has won the last game between these two teams in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup by a scoreline of 1-0.
What is also so interesting between these two teams is that both national teams did not get past the group stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and both believe that are capable of medalling in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Of the four matches, this might be the game to watch for the neutral viewer.
Fans and viewers can watch the Canada v Germany game nationally on CBC at 1:00pm ET on Saturday at the Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France. The winner of that game will face the winner of the USA v Japan game. That game will take place on the same day at 9:00am ET at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France.
Photo Credit: CANWNT’s X Account on July 31, 2024.
