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Canada 2 – 0 Great Britain
Arguably one of the best moments in Canadian Women's Soccer history, the team qualified for the Olympic semi-finals by defeating hosts Great Britain 2-0. Brilliant first half goals by Jonelle Filigno and Christine Sinclair sealed the victory in front of a near sellout crowd of 28,828.
Canada heavily pressured Great Britain for the first 30 minutes of the match. Six minutes in, Desiree Scott forced a turnover in midfield. The ball eventually got to Filigno, whose cushioned header allowed Melissa Tancredi to march into the penalty area. With no foul called on Tancredi's take down of the British central defence, Filigno got off a shot but straight to goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.
Filigno got Canada on the scoresheet in the 12' with a half-volley directly off a corner kick. The top corner, near post goal past a reactionless Bardsley marked Filigno's 9th in 48 caps.
The play leading up to the goal was another demonstration of a shift in the team's passing abilities in tight spaces, which was unseen until their final group match against Sweden. Canada gave themselves passing options by staying compact before stretching out upon the attack.
In the 17', Great Britain was quick on the counter attack. Jill Scott's shot from distance was handled by a diving Erin McLeod. Moments later, Karen Carney headed a cross wide of the net.
While Kim Little caught Desiree Scott in possession earlier in the match, Scott returned the favour in the 25' by pouncing on Little's heavy touch, who then took down Scott outside of the penalty area, setting up a free kick.
Sinclair lined up for the kick in a similar position against Germany at last year's FIFA Women's World Cup. And just like in 2011, Sinclair curled the free kick goal over the wall, this time placing the ball in a gap between Jill Scott and Carney. With her third of the tournament, Sinclair is now up to 140 international goals.
The last 10 minutes of the first half summarized the rest of the match for Great Britain: improved glimpses of possession as the match wore on without materializing into dangerous chances on net.
Second half shots in the 55' and 66' by Tancredi were sent directly at Bardsley
Great Britain was swarmed by Canadians in the 60', leaving Stephanie Houghton with the only option to rush a shot but well wide.
Hometown fans unleashed a chorus of boos on several occassions for questionable calls made by Japanese referee Sachiko Yamagishi. Late in the match, no penalty was awarded after Eniola Aluko was taken down in the box when Wilkinson caught her ankle on a sliding tackle.
In the 83', Sinclair had space to run past the British defence, but shot directly at Bardsley. Sinclair was later substituted off while hobbling to the bench, although still in great spirits.
Second half substitute Fara Williams was a slight spark for Great Britain with her ability to dribble through traffic. This time, Williams sailed her shot well high.
Similar to Canada, Great Britain, too, was depleted by injuries to their starters. Defender Ifeoma Dieke was replaced on the roster after suffering a knee injury against Cameroon. Attacking midfielder Kelly Smith was replaced in the lineup against Canada as she wasn't able to recover from a testy match against Brazil. Smith had just returned to the pitch following a broken leg sustained in March of this year.
Canada will be playing for a medal; now, it's just a matter of which colour. They will face off against the United States in the semi-finals at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. The US earned a berth by defeating New Zealand 2-0. This will mark the second Olympic showdown between Canada and the US. The rivals met in the quarter-finals of Beijing 2008 where the US advanced 2-1 on an extra-time goal.
While Canada has only beaten the US three times in their long history, they will be battling for a fourth win on Monday, August 6 at 2:45pm ET, live on TSN.
On the other side of the bracket, France avenged their 2011 WWC loss to Sweden by winning 2-1; Japan was victorious over Brazil 2-0. That semi-final match up between Japan and France at Wembley Stadium will be live at 12pm ET on Sportsnet.
While pursuing a career in non-profit event planning and fundraising,
Lissa provides in depth coverage of the CanWNT for All White Kit and
RedNation.
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