ANALYSIS – Germany advances via a penalty shoot-out thriller as Germany beats Canada in a game with a lot of scoring opportunities for both teams at the Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France. Both Germany and Canada had chances to win the game in both normal and extra-time.
Germany Beats Canada at the Stade de Marseille in Penalties
The CANWNT Had Many Chances to Score
The CANWNT had several chances to end the game in normal and extra-time. However, most of the times they shot the ball straight to the German goalkeeper or missed the target. The two times Canada was dangerous was:
- Adriana Leon was one-on-one with the German goalkeeper but could not convert.
- Ashley Lawrence’s shot forced the German goalkeeper, Ann-Katrin Berger, to make a save.
What was also true though was that the substitutions worked. Janine Beckie and Cloé Lacasse created some great scoring chances for their teammates. Evelyne Viens put herself in positions to score and Leon almost scored via a deflection. Heading into the Olympics, there were questions about Canada’s ability to score, however, in the group stage they proved the doubters wrong. Unfortunately, they were not able to continue their goal-scoring form against the Germans on Saturday.
Germany Did Well with Their Corners and Broke Down Canada’s Defence at Times
There were times that Germany was able to break down Canada’s defence in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Some of these examples included:
- Lea Schüller, the leading Paris 2024 goal-scorer for Germany, had two glorious chances to score, but was unable to convert on them.
- Germany created scoring chances from well-taken corners, which had two clear-scoring chances missed by involved Germany’s number 14 and Germany’s number eight.
Canada’s defence played better as the game went on. Also, while Germany had trouble creating scoring opportunities, they were able to threaten Canada, which forced them to make some early second-half substitutions.
Germany Was Fantastic with Their Penalties
As woeful as the Germans were with their scoring opportunities during the game, they were clinical in the penalty shootout. Three of the four penalties Germany scored were in the corner, which made it impossible for the CANWNT goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan, to make a save. As for Canada, the only well-taken penalty was the first one by Quinn. Even the penalty shot taken by Janine Beckie was almost stopped by the German goalkeeper, Berger. In particular, Ashley Lawrence’s shot was too weak in the penalty shoot-out.
Other Factors: The CANWNT Defence Played Well
Yes, at the start the CANWNT defence was not sharp, with some missed coverages by some of the players. However, overall, the team settled in and made some big defensive plays. This included:
- Vanessa Gilles made some big defensive plays, including a potential clear-cut goal scoring opportunity in the 65th minute.
- Evelyne Viens made a fantastic play on one of Germany’s corners to prevent a big goal-scoring chance in extra-time.
The Canadian defence while shaky at certain points of the game, did give Canada a chance to win the game, and that is all one can ask for from their defensive players.
While Canada lost, CanWNT head coach, Andy Spence, saw a lot of positives, as he stated this in Gregory Strong’s The Press article:
“I think we were able to execute what we had spoken about pre-game, and that was to do lots of work down the sides of their centrebacks, maybe manipulate them and get them to go into midfield areas, and open up some space,” Spence said. “We brought a real momentum, and at that stage of the game, we did dominate; we were outstanding.”
Germany Will Face the USWNT And More
Germany will now face the USWNT, who defeated Japan in extra-time thanks to a goal scored by Trinity Rodman. That game will take place at 12:00pm ET on August 6 at the Stade de Lyon in Décines-Charpieu, France.
This is while Spain survived a scare against Colombia as they came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game and advance via penalty-kicks. They will face Brazil, who upset hosts France 1-0 in the last quarter-final match to take place on Saturday. That game will take place in the Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France at 3:00pm ET on August 6.
What Is Next for Canada
As for the CANWNT, this is another heartbreaking loss as they have lost three of their four penalty shoot-outs this year, with the other two coming against the U.S. This is also the first time since 2008 that Canada did not medal in women’s soccer. The Canadians will not play many meaningful games for a bit of time now as they will now look to World Cup qualifying. Still, Canada did very well to get the past group stage considering the obstacles that they faced.
READ MORE: The Northern Super League is Born
This also marks the very last time Canada will compete in a major competition without a professional women’s soccer league. The Northern Super League (NSL) is set to kick-off next year with six teams residing in the cities of Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Photo Credit: CANWNT X Account on August 3, 2024.
