Canada Women’s football team has qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics where they would defend their title, after defeating Jamaica in the qualifiers.
Canada defeated Jamaica 2-1. Combined with a 2-0 win on Friday, Canada won the two-game series 4-1 on aggregate and has qualified for next summer’s Olympics.
Head coach Bev Priestman went with the same starting lineup as she did Friday, with one change.
Just 90 seconds into the game, Cloé Lacasse cut in and fired a shot that had Jamaica goalkeeper Rebecca Spencer at full stretch to make the catch.
Jamaica opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when midfielder Drew Spence, from 25 yards out, twirled a wonderful free-kick into the top corner of Canada’s goal for a surprising 1-0 lead.
Some minutes later, Adriana Leon curled in a corner kick that Lacasse headed home her second career goal for the national team. That leveled the playing field.
“The atmosphere tonight was absolutely unreal,” said Leon. “It’s such a privilege to play at home. I know everyone really enjoyed the 29,000 people that came out.”
Bev Priestman who was satisfied with her side’s performance said after the match.
“I think their fearlessness, blended in with some really good, experienced players is a great recipe to keep this team hungry and keep pushing,” said Priestman. “If we don’t have character, we’ve lost the heart of this team.”
