Canada defeats Jamaica 2-1 in second leg of the CONCACAF W Olympic Play-In to obtain Paris 2024 quota
The reigning Olympic champions will have the opportunity to defend their title after securing their spot at next summer’s Olympic Games
Football
Team Canada secured the final CONCACAF spot for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 for women's football after defeating Jamaica 2-1 in the second leg of the Olympic Play-In series on Tuesday, 26 September.
In front of a record-breaking sold-out crowd at the BMO stadium in Toronto, Cloé Lacasse and Jordyn Huitema scored the two final goals of the series that will send the reigning champions back to the Olympic stage.
Jamaica’s Drew Spence opened the scoring in the second leg with The Reggae Girlz’ lone goal for the series on 33 minutes, but Jamaica failed to come back from their 2-0 loss at home on Friday. They are yet to qualify a women’s football team in the history of the Olympics.
Nearly 30,000 spectators were in attendance in Toronto on Tuesday night, which is a new record for a men’s or women’s national team game in Ontario.
After a disappointing World Cup campaign that left Canada stunned after they failed to progress out of the group stage, the 2020 champions will be given an opportunity to extend their reign at the Olympics.
Team Canada’s Olympic medal streak
An Olympic medal machine is what Team Canada has proved themselves to be across the last 11 years.
They won their first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo after a dramatic 3-2 sudden-death penalty shootout against Sweden that landed them on top of the podium.
The Swedes came out of the gate confident, having controlled each of their five games leading up to the final. The atmosphere only shifted when Canada turned it around in the second half with renewed energy.
With the score 1-1 after 120 minutes of play, Canada's victory was the first time in Olympic women’s football history that the gold medal was decided by penalty shootout.
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - AUGUST 06: Players of Team Canada watch on during the penalty shoot out in the Women's Gold Medal Match between Canada and Sweden on day fourteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at International Stadium Yokohama on August 06, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
In 2012, Canada took their first bronze, which doubled as their first-ever Olympic medal. They fell to Japan in the semi-finals and advanced to the bronze medal match where they defeated France.
In 2016, the women took their second consecutive bronze after a similar course of play. They beat Brazil in the bronze medal match after losing to Germany in the semi-finals, who ultimately took gold in Rio.
In Paris, there will be 12 women’s teams competing in the tournament. which will be played across six iconic venues, including the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris and stadiums in Nice, Bordeaux, Marseille and more.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes’ participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.