The Canadian team got off to a flying start with two quick goals from Maryam Salehizadeh and Emma Reinke. Salehizadeh, who immigrated to Canada from Iran in 2016 to pursue her Paralympic dream, extended the lead to 3-0 late in the first half.
Reinke then took care of annihilating the French women’s hopes of a comeback by scoring twice to complete her hat-trick, giving her team a 5-0 lead before the break.
Coach Trent Farebrother used the second half to make roster changes and rest his star players. Canada couldn’t maintain its rhythm until Reinke returned to the lineup.
Farebrother allowed herself to be sent back onto the field with four minutes left in the match. The Ottawa native immediately made a name for herself with three goals to bring her tally to six.
Captain Amy Burk finally scored the 10th and final Canadian goal, which automatically ended the game.
Canada beat France 10-0 in their first preliminary match.Photo : Radio-Canada
An unequal duel
The Canadians, ranked 6th in the world, faced a French team with a young history in goalball. The representatives of France made their entrance onto the international scene in 2021.
Despite a poor performance at the Tokyo Games, where it finished 9th, the Canadian team is one of the best teams. Before winning a gold medal at the 2023 Parapan American Games, it had finished just off the podium at the 2022 World Championships.
Important points
In a group composed of Japan, ranked 2nd in the world, South Korea and France, these are precious points that the Canadian players have stored up at the start of the competition.
In this tournament built in two groups of four teams, all countries are automatically qualified for the quarter-finals. This impressive 10-0 victory thus gives them a considerable advantage in goal differential, if the Canadians were to find themselves tied in the standings.
They will now have the difficult task of measuring themselves against the Japanese.
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