Canada vs. Germany
Paris 2024 Olympic Games — Quarterfinals
August 3, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT
Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France

The last two winners of the women’s Olympic football tournament meet on Saturday, when Canada and Germany battle it out in Marseille with a trip to the semifinals on the line.

Saturday’s winner will also have the chance to play for an Olympic medal, something these two teams have done a lot of over the years. There have been seven editions of the tournament, and these teams have combined for seven medals. Germany were the 2016 champions and won bronze medals at the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics. Canada are the reigning champions, and won bronzes in 2012 and 2016. They met in the semifinals of the 2016 Olympics, where Germany won 2-0 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on goals from Melanie Behringer and Sara Däbritz.

Germany has historically dominated this fixture against Canada, winning 15 of the 17 all-time matches between the two, but Canada won the most recent meeting — a match at a 2022 invitational tournament, the Arnold Clark Cup. Vanessa Gilles scored the lone goal of that match with her first international goal, winning the game for Canada with a header seven minutes into the match.

Two-and-a-half years later, Gilles scoring timely goals has been a theme of Canada’s 2024 Olympic tournament thus far. It was her headed goal in Canada’s final group stage match against Colombia that booked their spot in the quarterfinals. A few days earlier she picked out the bottom left corner of France’s net in the 12th minute of second half stoppage time to win that game as well.

In Canada’s first match, Evelyne Viens was the hero for Canada with a 79th-minute goal to earn a 2-1 victory over New Zealand. Despite a six-point deduction and a circus off the field, Canada won all three of their matches to finish second in the group and book their ticket to the knockout rounds — where anything can happen.

Germany, meanwhile, finished second in Group B, winning two of their three matches. They kicked off the tournament with a 3-0 victory at Stade de Marseille — the same stadium they play Canada on Saturday — but lost their second match 4-1 on that same pitch against the United States. For match number three they were in Saint-Étienne, where Canada was primarily based for the group stage, and where Germany thumped Zambia 4-1.

Bayern Munich forward Lea Schüller leads the team with three goals through three matches, including scoring a brace against Zambia on Wednesday. Canada’s leading scorer is the aforementioned Vanessa Gilles with two, while Jessie Fleming, Cloé Lacasse, and Evelyne Viens have each found the back of the net as well.

With scores like that, both sides know there are goals for the taking in this match. It might be a tighter result, knockout football often is as both teams try to play things safe, but two teams full of world class players meeting with a chance to play for an Olympic medal will be must-watch.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Canada: Sheridan; Rose, Gilles, Buchanan; Lawrence, Awujo, Fleming, Carle; Leon, Prince, Beckie

Germany: Berger; Gwinn, Hendrich, Schulze, Rauch; Brand, Minge, Nüsken, Bühl; Popp, Schüller

ALL-TIME SERIES

Canada wins: 2 || Germany wins: 15 || Draws: 0

Last meeting:

February 23, 2022 – Canada 1-0 Germany — 2022 Arnold Clark Cup