Manchester United Women's two representatives at the Paris Olympics, Hinata Miyazawa and Jayde Riviere, are still dreaming of winning a gold medal after their national teams booked places in this weekend's quarter-finals.
The Canadian Olympic Committee announced last week that the United defender had been ruled out of their tournament opener against New Zealand
“due to an ankle injury... sustained on July 17 during an Olympic preparation match versus Nigeria.”
Hinata also started her country's second game at the Olympics, a dramatic 2-1 triumph over Brazil, but was substituted with 10 minutes remaining when the South Americans were still leading 1-0. Staring a damaging successive defeat in the face, Japan somehow managed to turn the contest on its head with Saki Kumagai's penalty equaliser and Momoko Tanikawa's winner, both scored in injury time.
Reds midfielder Miyazawa, who won the Golden Boot at the Women's World Cup last summer, was an unused substitute as Japan completed their qualification for the knockout rounds with Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Nigeria. They can now look forward to Saturday's first quarter-final at Parc des Princes, kicking off at 14:00 BST against Emma Hayes's United States side.
Canada's last-eight clash against Germany begins four hours later, at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, where Riviere's compatriots will be determined to move on from the controversy that has clouded their Olympics involvement so far.
The Canucks won all of their games in Group A, against New Zealand (2-1), France (2-1) and Colombia (1-0), but had six points deducted after being found guilty of using a drone to spy on one of the Kiwis' training sessions ahead of the opening match.
Head coach Bev Priestman was dismissed, and has joined Canadian officials Joseph Lombardi and Jasmine Mander in being suspended from any football-related activity for one year. Andy Spence has been placed in caretaker charge but it remains to be seen whether Riviere will feature, as her country bids to win gold for the second consecutive Olympics after their success in Tokyo.
The other quarter-finals being played on Saturday are Spain v Colombia (16:00 BST) and France v Brazil (20:00 BST). Best of luck to Hinata and Jayde for their games.