'We're a damn good team': Canadian soccer players defiant in face of adversity

Vanessa Gilles's teammates know her as "the magnet."

The nickname comes from the veteran centre back's knack for attracting the ball at the right times.

On Sunday, it happened again. In the 101st minute of a tie game, Gilles collected the rebound off a shot from Jordyn Huitema and stuffed it off the post and into the back of the net, securing an emotional 2-1 comeback victory for Canada over host France.

But Gilles' post-game comments proved even more magnetic than her left foot.

"We haven't slept in the last three days. We haven't eaten. We've been crying. Like, I wouldn't say they're ideal performing situations. But we've held each other through it and we've had absolutely nothing to lose," a teary-eyed Gilles said while still standing on the pitch. 

"So what's given us energy is each other, is our determination, is our pride to prove people wrong, our pride to represent this country when all this shit is coming out about our values, about our representation as Canadians. 

"It's not us. We're not cheaters. We're damn good players. We're a damn good team. We're a damn good group and we proved that today."

Stripped of context, the victory — a late-minute comeback over second-ranked France on its home turf — was plenty dramatic in itself.

But consider the circumstances. A day earlier, FIFA docked Canada six points over the drone scandal that's engulfed the team since before the opening ceremony had even begun. Bev Priestman, the team's gold-medal winning coach, was suspended for a year over her role in the scheme.

There's been no indication that players retained any awareness of the spying. 

Years of unequal pay and mistreatment could not simply be forgotten with a temporary accord.

"Canada Soccer was enjoying for once some positive momentum on both sides, the men's team and the women's team. We seem to be moving in the right direction, especially in advance of hosting the [men's] World Cup in 2026. And now we seem to have gone 10 steps back again," said longtime national team player and CBC Sports analyst Amy Walsh. 

"And it's like we can never kind of shake, Canada Soccer is a bit of a joke."

And so, feeling betrayed by both their coaching staff and their federation, it's not hard to imagine an us-against-the-world mentality forming among players.

"Sometimes the stars align even when everything is going against you," Gilles said. "It's just a lot of pride. I've never felt so many emotions in a game, even in the Olympic final."

WATCH l Gilles' late goal gives Canada 2-1 victory over host France:

Vanessa Gilles' late game heroics keep Canada's Olympic soccer hopes alive

4 months ago

Duration 4:35

In a must-win game for the defending champions, Vanessa Gilles' goal late into stoppage time gave Canada a 2-1 victory over France.

The daily drip of news, including Monday's release that the Canadian Olympic Committee is appealing the points penalty levied by FIFA, have invariably consisted of executives and coaches speaking about their roles in the scandal.

As such, the spotlight has rarely landed on the players themselves.

Yet with the walls closing in around them, with a stadium full of fans rooting against them, the Canadian players showed their tenacity, their grit, their resilience.

"Just 12 hours ago we were in a circle crying our eyes out after hearing about the news," Gilles said of the FIFA sanctions. "Punching walls. Crying our eyes out again. Laughing about it in delusion and then crying again."

Now, suddenly, they are one win away from advancing. Canada plays Colombia on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET. Anything less than victory and a quarterfinal appearance is back to being unlikely.

WATCH | Canada deducted 6 points amid scandal:

Canada's women's soccer team docked points, coaches suspended by FIFA

4 months ago

Duration 4:37

FIFA says it's deducting six points from the Canadian women's Olympic soccer team and banning three coaches for one year, including head coach Bev Priestman. The decision comes after some staff members on the team were accused of using a drone to spy on other teams at the Olympics and other events.

But Sunday's triumph makes anything seem possible for this Canadian group whose defiance in the face of adversity has been reminiscent of some other vaunted Canadian teams.

There was Phil Esposito after Game 4 of the 1972 Summit Series, as Canadians began turning on a team that had beaten the Soviets just once to that point.

"We're disillusioned and disappointed. We cannot believe the bad press we've got, the booing we've got in our own building."

"I'm completely disappointed. I cannot believe it. Every one of us guys ... we came because we love our country. Not for any other reason. We came because we love Canada."

Or how about Wayne Gretzky, speaking to the media after Canada's 1-1-1 group-stage record at the 2002 Olympic hockey tournament? 

The Canadians were just coming off a 3-3 tie with the Czechs which Gretzky, the team's executive director, thought was poorly officiated — an issue compounding the rising pressure on a team that had gone 50 years without gold.

"Am I hot? Yeah I'm hot. Because I'm tired of people taking shots at Canadian hockey. When we do it, we're hooligans. But when Europeans do it, that's OK because they're not tough or they're not dirty. That's a crock of crap."

In moments where it seemed like nothing could go their way, those hockey teams leaned on each other — a phrase we've heard from the current women's soccer team.

Esposito's squad rallied to win the final three games of the Summit Series and beat the Soviets.

Gretzky's group did, in fact, come away with that long-awaited gold medal.

Now, the women's soccer players can etch their names in Canadian lore.