Sinclair, Tancredi to lead Canadians at Rio qualifer
TORONTO — Captain Christine Sinclair and six other veterans of the Canadian women’s soccer team that won bronze at the 2012 London Olympics will lead the charge in Texas next month to qualify for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Coach John Herdman’s 20-woman roster for the Feb. 10-21 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship also features 13 players from the World Cup team that finished sixth on home soil last summer, when Canada lost to England in the quarter-finals.
Herdman has infused youth into his squad with seven players 20 years old and under.
Players range in age from 16-yearold midfielder Deanne Rose to 34year-old forward Melissa Tancredi of Ancaster.
“The team we have selected today represents the best of Canadian soccer, consisting of a subtle blend of youth and experience,” Herdman said in a statement.
Playing in Group B, 11th-ranked Canada opens against No. 89 Guyana on Feb. 11 before f acing No. 48 Trinidad and Tobago on Feb. 14 and No. 76 Guatemala on Feb. 16.
Group A play, featuring the topranked Americans, No. 26 Mexico, No. 34 Costa Rica, and No. 108 Puerto Rico, takes place in Frisco outside Dallas.
The top two teams in each group play in the crossover semifinals Feb. 19 with the winners booking their ticket to Rio de Janeiro as representatives of North and Central America and the Caribbean. The championship game goes Feb. 21.
Canada will play all its matches at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, home to Group B and all the playoff games. Group A matches will be played in Frisco in suburban Texas.
Of the camp invitees, 16-year-old defender Kennedy Faulknor, 18year forward Marie Levasseur and 32-year-old defender Marie-Eve Nault — a London Olympic veteran — did not make the final tournament team.
Sinclair, 32, and Tancredi are joined by fellow Olympic veterans Diana Matheson, Erin McLeod, Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt and Rhian Wilkinson. Together they have 1,035 caps for Canada.
The Canadian women have qualified for the last two Olympics.
Host Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, South Africa and Zimbabwe have already qualified for Rio. They will be joined in the 12-country field by two teams from Africa, either Papua New Guinea or New Zealand from Oceania, plus one more European team from the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden or Switzerland. Canada’s roster: Goalkeepers: Erin McLeod, St. Albert, Alta.; Stephanie Labbe, Edmonton; Sabrina D’Angelo, Welland.
Defenders: Kadeisha Buchanan, Brampton; Rebecca Quinn, Toronto; Shelina Zadorsky, London; Josee Belanger, Coaticook, Que.; Allysha Chapman, Courtice, Ont.; Rhian Wilkinson, Baie-d’Urfe, Que.
Midfielders: Jessie Fleming, London; Ashley Lawrence, Caledon; Diana Matheson, Oakville; Deanne Rose, Alliston; Sophie Schmidt, Abbotsford, B.C.; Desiree Scott, Winnipeg.
Forwards: Janine Beckie, Highlands Ranch, Colo.; Gabrielle Carle, Levis, Que.; Nichelle Prince, Ajax; Christine Sinclair (capt.), Burnaby, B.C.; Melissa Tancredi, Ancaster.