It seems Canada won’t get tempted easily to wave the white flag. After defeating New Zealand in the opening group stage match, and the following drone spying scandal, Vanessa Gilles and her teammates penned an impressive comeback over France to clinch an emphatic 1-2 victory against the hosts. The latest win saw them garner fervent backing from former Olympians Hayley Wickenheiser and Kara Lang Romero, who claim it an ‘incredible response’ over the drone spying scandal which saw them face a 6-point deduction.

Wickenheiser, a former Canadian ice hockey player and current assistant general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs, took to X to hail the CanXNT’s efforts to win over the French ladies. She tweeted, “6 pts? Whatevs! 🇨🇦❤️ LFG!”

Likewise, also jumping on the bandwagon was Romero, ex-Canadian soccer and Vancouver Whitecaps Women’s star, who rather went emotional following the win and also expressed her disbelief in her nation’s U23s women. She wrote, “Who else is crying? This team – My god. They’ve outplayed France all game. What an incredible response.”

Notably, with the second consecutive win, Bev Preistman’s side has also paid their negative six-point debt. France is in second place and tied with Colombia over three points but the South American nation is at the top, thanks to their inaugural win over New Zealand and an additional goal difference. Though Canada stands third in Group A with nil points, a win against Colombia can see them progress through the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, France will look to make no mistakes against New Zealand, but the Kiwis may surprise the hosts and do a favor for the Canadians. Regardless, if CanXNT capitalizes on the window of qualification, then what a response it would be to give over the ‘cheater‘ claims, something which made Vanessa Gilles burst into tears.

Vanessa Gilles responds to ‘cheater’ allegations on Canada in Paris Olympics 2024

It was Gilles’ stoppage time goal that made CanWNT pull a victory vs the hosts, France. In the post-match interview, the center-back got emotional opening up on the backlash towards her nation. While preaching the tough conditions Canada endured, the Lyon star said, “Heck we have nothing to lose, we haven’t slept in the last three days. We haven’t eaten, we’ve been crying. I wouldn’t say their ideal performing situations but we’ve held each other through it and we’ve had absolutely nothing to lose.”

Gilles emphasized Canada’s pride in proving doubters wrong despite criticism of their values and praising her teammates’ determination. “We’re not cheaters. We’re a damn good players, we’re a damn good team and we’re a damn good group and we proved that today,” the 28-year-old concluded. Indeed, a proud moment for Canada as they look resolute to prove everyone wrong.