Canada achieved a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Costa Rica in extra time of the quarterfinals of the first-ever Women’s Gold Cup on Saturday.
Evelyne Viens, a striker for Italian club Roma, scored the game’s only goal in the 104th minute at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles (California, United States), where Costa Rica had good chances to pull off the upset.
Canada, the reigning Olympic champions, will face the winner of Sunday’s quarterfinal between the United States and Colombia in the semifinals on Wednesday.
The North American team struggled much more than expected against a Costa Rica side that had earned its quarterfinal spot via an unlikely draw.
At the end of the first round, the Ticos were tied with Puerto Rico in the race to be one of the best third-place teams in the groups, and CONCACAF resolved the situation with a draw that Costa Rica won.
The Central American team, who played in the 2022 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, was subjected to a siege from Canada for much of the game on Saturday but had several chances to tilt the match in their favor.
The clearest opportunity came in the 90+3rd minute when Alexa Herrera received the ball in the area but her close-range shot was blocked by Canadian keeper Kailen Sheridan’s leg.
Canada, which tallied a total of 20 shots to Costa Rica’s two, breathed a sigh of relief in extra time when Evelyne Viens headed a free kick delivery into the Tico area into the top corner.
Costa Rica still had a chance at penalties in a last play in the 120th minute, when Priscila Chinchilla sent a venomous cross into the area that Valeria del Campo headed over the crossbar.
Saturday’s slate of quarterfinal matches was rounded out by a clash between Brazil and Argentina, two of the four South American teams invited to this CONCACAF tournament along with Colombia and Paraguay.
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AFP
