Minutes after the Canadian women's soccer team took down Colombia, winning the third of three must-win games to complete an improbable Olympic group stage sweep, goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan was asked what could stop her team. "Just us, man," Sheridan told Radio-Canada's Christine Roger. "We're the only thing in our way." A six-point penalty from FIFA, levied after a drone spying-scandal involving head coach Bev Priestman and two staff members, couldn't stop them.
There's no indication the players were involved, but they were the ones who bore the brunt of FIFA's punishment. As the noise got louder around them, the 22 players on Canadian team did their best to shut the world out.
They used that belief in each other to propel the team to two come-from-behind wins, when many had already counted them out.
At times on Saturday, it looked like the Canadians might have what it takes to defeat a strong German side and advance to the semifinals.