Canada WNT weathered a storm at the Paris Olympics stage, beating the hosts 2-1 while being in hot water off the pitch due to the drone gate. Though their coach faced an Olympic ban for drone usage, the Canadian soccer stars showed grit, especially Vanessa Gilles, who scored at the death to outclass France. Gilles and Canada’s show impressed USMNT legend and soccer analyst Alexi Lalas. Yet, the US veteran couldn’t resist an urge to take a cheeky dig at Canada’s drone fiasco.

Energized after Canada’s big win, Gilles emotionally dismissed the drone spying allegations. She also detailed how the spying fiasco devastated the CanWNT locker room.

Alexi Lalas congratulates and mocks Canada at the same time

Canada women’s soccer team’s X page celebrated Vanessa Gilles and Co.’s sensational win with a subtle shout-out. “NO QUIT IN THIS SQUAD! Vanessa Gilles’ late-game heroics earn us a vital victory,” CanWNT wrote on X. Alexi Lalas shared CanWNT’s post on his account. He wrote, “Well done, Canada! See, you don’t need it.” Yet, Lalas appreciated Canada’s players, but he hit the bulls-eye when he subtly told the Canadian Soccer Federation to stop the alleged drone usage.

The former USMNT defender notably sided with the Canada WNT players over the drone gate. “You know the players probably have no idea and have no connection to this, except they’re ultimately going to be tainted because they’re going to be looked at least in this tournament as cheaters,” he said on Fox while responding to Beverley Priestman’s Olympic ban.

As Lalas said, Vanessa Gilles and Co. earned quite the ill-repute for allegedly cheating before the New Zealand game. However, Gilles fired back at the ones that think the Canucks cheated.

Vanessa Gilles boldly says her team proved everyone wrong

Vanessa Gilles couldn’t hold back her tears while giving a post-game interview to CBC. “Heck, we have nothing to lose. We haven’t slept in the last three days. We haven’t eaten, we’ve been crying,” said Gilles, revealing the damage the Spygate had on the Canadian locker room.

“We’re not cheaters. We’re damn good players, we’re a damn good team and we’re a damn good group and we proved that today,” the ace defender added.

Anyhow, Canada faced a six-point deduction for using a drone to spy on New Zealand women’s team players at their camp. A dominant win against Colombia in their last group game is the only way for the Canucks to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympic soccer tournament. Do you think they can go forward despite the issues they face?