Canadian women clinch World Cup spot
ANNE M. PETERSON
FRISCO, TEXAS Christine Sinclair scored twice and Canada went on to secure a spot in next year’s World Cup in France with a 7-0 victory over Panama Sunday in the semifinals of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament.
Sinclair has 177 international goals. She ranks second on the career list — among both men and women — behind former U.S. forward Abby Wambach’s record of 184.
After her header in the 44th minute gave Canada its opening goal, Sinclair pumped her fist in celebration. She added another header in the 49th minute.
Adriana Leon, who came in as a sub for Sinclair in the 68th minute, also scored a pair of goals.
The United States played Jamaica Sunday night in the other semifinal at Toyota Stadium. The U.S., ranked No. 1 in the world, is the defending World Cup champion, having beaten Japan in Canada in 2015.
The CONCACAF final and thirdplace match are set for Wednesday night. The top three finishers in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship will represent the region in France, so the winners of both semifinals earn a berth. The fourth-place finisher will face Argentina in a playoff for another spot.
Canada, ranked No. 5 in the world, will make its seventh World Cup appearance. The only time Canada missed out on the game’s premier tournament was in 1991, the event’s first year.
Panama coach Victor Daniel gave half of his starters from earlier in the tournament the night off, including 17-year-old goalkeeper Yenith Bailey, who turned heads in a 5-0 loss to the United States in the group stage. Carli Lloyd shook the teenager’s hand following a gutsy performance. Panama started Farissa Cordoba instead.
The strategy was apparently to give the starters a break in anticipation that 66th-ranked Panama would play in the third-place game, perhaps against Jamaica, and a win there can still secure a World Cup berth.