Love them or hate them, the Canadian women brought the drama to Olympic soccer

The Canadian women's soccer team won their second matchup on Sunday in a 2-1 victory over France at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The win bodes well for the defending gold medalists, who came out on top during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Despite their consecutive wins, they now only have a grand total of 0 total points.

The decorated national team is being penalized for a drone spying scandal involving its coaching staff, which ultimately cost the Canadian women's team a six-point deduction heading into the Olympics.

The six-point deficit put the national team in a tough position to advance beyond Group A in the group stage, but the win keeps Canada in contention for another gold medal for the moment.

Canada defeats France in dramatic fashion following drone spying scandal

The Canadian women's soccer team managed to stay alive after a stunning 2-1 comeback victory over France at Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium on Sunday night. Canada entered the game with minus-three points, and a loss or a draw would have dashed the team's hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.

Vanessa Giles scored the game-winner with just two minutes remaining in second-half added time. The goal came shortly after goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan made a save to preserve the tie. Canada's first goal came from Jessie Fleming earlier in the second half.

The issues began last Monday, when a drone was spotted surveying New Zealand's practice ahead of its Olympic opener versus Canada last Thursday. An investigation revealed that Team Canada was responsible for flying the drone and was using it to gather intel on New Zealand ahead of their matchup.

Canada Soccer announced they were exploring options to appeal the points deduction. The case will likely head to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's special Olympic court in Paris.

If the point deduction is upheld by the CAS judges, Canada will have begun the tournament with minus-six points. Their 2-1 win over New Zealand on Thursday put them at minus-three points, and their 2-1 victory over France finally has them back at zero.

There's still a chance Canada can move out of the group stage in a win over Colombia, but it's been a difficult week for the team as they attempt to play their way out of the costly deficit.