The world’s top international scorer, Sinclair retires from the Canadian women’s team – 10/20/2023 – Sport

Christine Sinclair, the world’s leading international goalscorer, has announced her retirement from the Canada women’s national team. The 40-year-old player, however, says she plans to play for another season for the Portland Thorns, in the NWSL (American Women’s League).

Sinclair’s international career includes 190 goals for Canada in 327 games, an Olympic gold medal and six World Cup appearances.

“Honestly, you can’t play forever,” Sinclair told Reuters. “And it seems like a good time to call it quits.”

At this year’s World Cup, she wasted the chance to be the first football athlete (male or female) to score a goal in six World Cups. In his debut, against Nigeria, Sinclair missed a penalty. Marta also had that chance, but she didn’t make it.

The official farewell to the Canadian team must take place in two games that will be held between November 27th and December 5th, in FIFA’s window for international matches.

“Canada Soccer [associação de futebol do país] is working to announce more matches, which will be announced next week,” said Sinclair, the women’s player with the most matches played.

“The way the schedule is shaping up, it will be a nice way to end.”

Outside the Olympics

Sinclair’s departure means she will not make her fourth Olympic appearance next year in Paris.

“After Tokyo, I knew I didn’t want to play in Paris,” Sinclair said.

“And then I wanted to try the World Cup again [este ano], due to our team’s lack of success in World Cups in general. So I knew it was coming to an end based on what I wanted to do in terms of a timeline.”

Canada’s World Cup ended in the group stage with a 4-0 defeat to host country Australia, and Sinclair said he did not want his international career to end like this.

“So it was important to be part of the group trying to qualify for Paris, just to end on a slightly better note than the World Cup,” she said.

Sinclair helped Canada secure an Olympic berth in Paris with a victory over Jamaica in Toronto on September 26.

“And then what started to dawn on me was the excitement of having time off and the FIFA windows being a break, and being able to spend more time with my family and go on vacation and things like that,” she added.

“Honestly, I haven’t been able to do that since I went to college.”

Goal record

Sinclair broke United States forward Abby Wambach’s international goalscoring record of 184 goals in a 2020 Olympic qualifying game against St. Kitts and Nevis.

The Canadians won their first Olympic title in Tokyo, beating Sweden on penalties in the final.

Cristiano Ronaldo, from Portugal, is the top male scorer with 127 goals.

Sinclair debuted for the Canadian national team — and scored his first international goal — at the age of 16, in the 2000 Algarve Cup.

She received the FIFA Special Award for Outstanding Career Achievement in 2021, has two Olympic bronze medals from 2012, when she won the Golden Boot, and 2016, and has been the Canadian player of the year 14 times.

Off the field, she was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2013 and named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017.

Sinclair, normally reserved, has become a vocal leader in Team Canada’s recent fight for equal pay and treatment.

The athlete is expected to be in Canada’s squad for two friendlies against Brazil on October 28 in Montreal and, three days later, in Halifax. Tickets for the game at the Wanderers Grounds in Halifax, which has a capacity for 6,400 fans, sold out within 20 minutes.