‘We don’t really care’: Fearless France enters Canada game seeking a miracle
France will play a knockout game at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics. So, too, will Canada.
While both teams have their next stage determined, they will face off in Group A on Sunday, with Canada seeking the top seed among the four direct berths to the quarterfinal. France, meanwhile, looks for a monumental upset and a higher position in the qualification rounds, which include all but the group winners and the next-best team.
For superstar-brimming Canada, which comes off 5-1 and 5-0 wins over the NHL-stacked rosters of Switzerland and Czechia, a matchup against France seems all but decided before puck drop.
France features current Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier as its lone NHLer, along with three others with NHL experience. In total, their NHL experience combines for 1,075 games, 123 goals and 270 points.
Compared to Canada, which boasts a combined 16,680 games, 4,578 goals and 12,814 points.
It’s lopsided — but not entirely unprecedented, given France beat Canada at the 2014 IIHF World Championships.
“We know we’re the underdogs of the tournament, of this group,” said France’s Louis Boudon, who plays for Mikkelin Jukurit of the Finnish Liiga. “We know a lot of these teams don’t respect us. We don’t really care. We try to show up and do our best, and prove to them that we can play with them.”
“Canada is probably the best team of the tournament. They have the best squad on paper. We saw what they did to the Czech team.”
As much as Canada will enter the France game as overwhelming favorites, the expectation of a simple win may be too quaint.
At these Olympics, there have been moments when Italy led Sweden, Latvia led the United States, and even France led Czechia, only for all to go on to deliver their eventual high-effort performances.
France even fought back from a 2-0 deficit against the highly touted Czechs to lead 3-2 briefly.
“We learned a lot,” added Boudon about the game against Czechia and the efforts to come. “It showed us that we can play with some of the best nations. We know we can do it now… so we’re going to have to come out even harder and just try to make it hard for them and see what happens.”
The game could prove pivotal for many on the French team as well, giving them a test against the best team before the national team program likely undergoes a heavy overhaul to make it more competitive for the French Alps 2030 Olympics, which will see hockey played in Nice, France.
For Canada, securing the top spot in the preliminary stage could mean avoiding the USA until at least a semifinal.
“We came here for one reason, and right now we’ve put ourselves in a great position. If we don’t have to play in the qualification game, that’s great. Rest is a weapon for us,” added Canadian head coach Jon Cooper.
“We’re going to get some rest tomorrow. We knew this was going to be a tough one, having these back-to-back games, but we passed the test.”