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Rio 2016: Canadian women through to Olympic soccer semifinal

Sophie Schmidt (L) of Canada and of Amandine Henry of France in action during the match between Canada and France womens football quarter final for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 at Arena Corinthians on August 12, 2016 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Alexandre Schneider / Getty Images

Canada has beaten France 1-0 in women’s soccer and will face Germany in the Olympic semifinal.

The Canadian squad barely held on in the last few minutes of the game Friday night as the French pushed hard, in what had started as a slow game.

The first half was scoreless and the teams seemed evenly matched, with neither putting many shots on goal.

But that changed early in the second half, as ten minutes in, Sophie Schmidt scored the first goal. Things picked up after that, as almost immediately after, Schmidt got a yellow card – earning France a free kick and its best scoring chance so far in the game.

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Team captain Christine Sinclair managed to deflect the French shot, having it hit the crossbar, just missing the goal.

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The French kept up the pressure after that, as Canada gave them many free kicks. They came very close to scoring on several of those opportunities.

However, Canada managed to keep them away and won the game in the end.

WATCH: Canada’s women’s soccer team looks to cement legacy in Rio. Vassy Kapelos reports.
Click to play video: 'Rio 2016: Canada’s women’s soccer team looks to cement legacy in Rio'
Rio 2016: Canada’s women’s soccer team looks to cement legacy in Rio

Canada will face Germany without defender Josee Belanger, as she earned a yellow card late in the game. Canadian defender Allysha Chapman left the game in the first half with an injury.

The semifinals are on Tuesday.

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