When Canada steps onto the field against Brazil in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Summer Olympics on Thursday, the team will be looking to emulate history — while simultaneously ignoring it.
The Canadians were the only team to reach the podium at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, and they're one game away from playing for a third successive medal. They earned their most recent Olympic hardware against the Brazilians on the opposition's home turf five years ago, and they'll have to put in a good performance against the South Americans if they wish to remain in Tokyo a little while longer.
If Canada's going to win on Friday, it'll have to reach back and recreate some of that magic from five years ago while also bucking recent worrying trends against the Brazilians. Bev Priestman's side is winless against the Canarinhas in the four most recent meetings between the teams, although results have improved slightly since the 4-0 battering Brazil delivered in November 2019.
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On top of that, the Canadians exited the group stage with a win and two draws — with both draws coming as a result of opposition goals scored in the closing minutes.
That Canada squandered two late leads and instead came away with five points instead of nine from group play has to be a concern for Priestman heading into the knockouts, although the coach was saying all the right things immediately following the 1-1 draw with Great Britain on Tuesday that knocked the team into second place.
“To go undefeated in the group stage is nothing to scoff at," Priestman said. "Across the group stage we’ve had eight debuts at the Olympics. I felt today was a much better Canadian performance getting us ready now for some great tier one opponents.
“Everyone who stepped in did an unbelievable job, and the strength of this group will be the depth, they can step in whenever needed so no matter what happens moving forward, we’re all ready to go.”
While a first-place finish in the group would've given Canada an easier path to a medal, the players know that every opponent in the knockouts will be a test. They might as well get one of the tougher ones out of the way early on.
“We are undefeated in three games and we’ve put ourselves in control of our own destiny,” goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé said. “We know what our ultimate goal is, and we’re on our way to that.”