Canada shrug off spying scandal
France survived a wobble to beat Colombia 3-2 in Lyon, where there were plenty of empty seats to greet the host nation.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto scored twice in the first half either side of a Kenza Dali strike as France appeared to be cruising.
However, Catalina Usme pulled one back from a penalty early in the second half and substitute Manuela Pavi further reduced the deficit before a red card for Mayra Ramirez ended Colombian hopes of snatching a point.
In the same Group A, reigning Olympic champions Canada shrugged off a spying scandal to claim a 2-1 win over New Zealand in Saint-Etienne.
Mackenzie Barry gave New Zealand the lead before a sparse crowd at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
Arsenal’s Cloe Lacasse levelled in first-half stoppage time for Canada, who beat Sweden on penalties in the final in Tokyo three years ago. Evelyne Viens then fired in the winner 11 minutes from time.
Canada’s build-up had been overshadowed after an assistant coach and an analyst were sent home from the Olympics on the eve of the game.
The analyst, 43-year-old Joey Lombardi, was also given a suspended eight-month prison sentence for flying a drone over a New Zealand training session this week in Saint-Etienne.
Head coach Bev Priestman apologised and took no part in the game against New Zealand, feeling it would not be appropriate.
“As a Canadian, these are not our values. We are not cheats,” said defender Vanessa Gilles, who described the episode as a “humiliation”.
