After leading Canada to gold at the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, captain Christine Sinclair realized something.
“After Tokyo, deep inside me, I knew that I didn’t want to go to Paris,” she said, referring to the Paris Games in 2024. The way it ended at the Olympic Games in Tokyo couldn’t be better.
“I wanted to try my luck one last time at the World Cup, because I honestly believed we had a chance to win and we hadn’t had success in this tournament in a very long time,” he said. she adds.
But that didn’t come to fruition. Canada was eliminated quickly last summer in Australia, unable to advance from the group stage in Sinclair’s sixth – and final – appearance.
It wasn’t the ending I hoped for.
So Sinclair soldiered on, helping Canada qualify for the Paris Olympics last month after playing 35 minutes in the second leg that cemented a 4-1 aggregate-goal win over Jamaica. The 40-year-old from Burnaby, BC has therefore decided to end her international career at the end of 2023.
“I can sit back and say to myself that I have literally done everything and given everything I had to this national team since I was 16,” she told The Canadian Press. I have no remorse, knowing everything I did and all the work I put into it… I know I did everything, for as long as I could. And this team will be in good hands for the future. »
Although she has ended her international career, Sinclair plans to play one final season with the Portland Thorns in the NWSL next season.
Sinclair, the top scorer in women’s soccer history with 190 goals in 327 international appearances, is expected to play four more matches for Canada. She is expected to feature in two friendlies later this month against No. 9 Brazil – at Saputo Stadium on October 28 and October 31 in Halifax.
Soccer Canada is then expected to announce two more matches in the country later this year, sometime between November 27 and December 6. A source revealed that one of these matches should take place in Vancouver against Australia (No. 11). The other match should be presented in the same sector, against the same opponent.
These four home games will allow Sinclair to say goodbye to his homeland.
“It made my decision very easy,” she said. Playing for the national team as long as I did, we didn’t have the opportunity to play at home often… It will be special for me. »
Sinclair is clearly at peace with his decision.
“For me, it’s just a matter of time. I started thinking about going on vacation, spending time with my family, going to my cabin – five years ago this would never have crossed my mind. But at the same time, it excites me to play professionally (for Portland), while having one thing to focus on. I felt like it was the right time. »
Sinclair has long been the face of Canadian soccer, a world-class talent with family values. Not inclined to seek the limelight, it is in the field that she is most talked about.
Sinclair has also helped the Canadian team create an environment that welcomes young and old – and everything in between. Besides, she would like to get into coaching after retiring for good, but not as head coach.
“It sounds horrible and stressful and I’m not interested at the moment,” Sinclair says with a laugh. But the idea of being a coach of a specific unit, like the attackers for example, is something that interests me.
“But at the same time, when I stop playing for good, I know I’ll have a lot of opportunities and options. »
Sinclair made her senior debut at 16 – the youngest player in Canada’s history at the time – in March 2000, in a 4-0 loss to China at the Algarve Cup. She scored her first goal two days later, in her second senior outing, beating star goalkeeper Bente Nordby in a 2–1 loss to Norway.
Sinclair broke Abby Wambach’s world record of 184 goals on January 29, 2020, scoring her second goal in a 12-0 victory over Saint Kitts and Nevis at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship.
Sinclair has competed in four Olympic Games, including leading the team to a bronze medal in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro.
His hat-trick in the 4-3 extra-time loss to the United States in the semi-final in London in 2012 also remains an indelible memory for many. After the loss, she gathered her dejected teammates in the locker room. A rare speech from the captain.
“I think the best leaders don’t talk a lot, but when they talk, people listen,” said John Herdman, then the women’s team coach.
“I get emotional every time I think about that speech,” added goalie Erin McLeod.
The Canadians beat France 1-0 in the bronze medal match thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Diana Matheson.
