Canada has advanced to the women’s soccer semifinals at Rio 2016 after defeating France 1-0 in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Sophie Schmidt struck on 56 minutes after some tremendous footwork and a lovely assist from Janine Beckie to clinch the victory for Canada in a rematch of the bronze medal game at the 2012 Olympics.

It was Schmidt’s first-ever Olympic goal. Beckie, meanwhile, recorded her first assist of the competition. She is Canada’s top scorer and is second overall in the tournament.

Despite the win, there were some nervous moments for Les Rouges. Defender Allysha Chapman had to exit the match in the 42nd minute with an injury. Her replacement, Josee Belanger, was booked later in the game and will miss the semifinal as a result.

France still managed to test the Canadian goal on a few occasions. Wendie Renaud’s missed header in the first half was arguably the best chance of the game, but the attempt missed the far post.

Once Canada took the lead, the defence stood tall. Shelina Zadorsky and Rebecca Quinn produced a couple of crucial blocks and interceptions to maintain the advantage as the Canadians earned their second clean sheet.

“I’m proud of the girls tonight,” said Canada coach John Herdman. “We showed that Canadian grit.”

The Canadians are the only team in the Olympics to hold a perfect record. They have won all four of their matches, scoring eight goals while conceding just twice. Three of the four victories have come against top-five nations in the FIFA rankings.

Canada will now face Germany in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday in the semifinals. The 2012 bronze medalists shocked the Germans earlier in the tournament, winning 2-1 in their final group stage match. The defending European champions made a number of changes in that game, so the Canadians will likely face a different lineup.

The odds of Canada winning the gold medal significantly increased after Sweden knocked out the United States 4-3 in a penalty shootout earlier on Friday. The U.S. was favoured to defend its title, but now the field is wide open after its surprising elimination.

Sweden will face Brazil in the other semi. The winner of that match will battle Canada or Germany for the gold.

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