World awaits for Canada
Sinclair nets pair to punch ticket for Cup showcase
LAURA ARMSTRONG A wild-eyed Christine Sinclair pumped her fist in celebration after her first of two goals against Panama, the gamewinner in an eventual 7-0 blowout victory on Sunday evening that ensured a seventh straight trip to the Women’s World Cup for the Canadian soccer team.
The 35-year-old captain broke the ice in the 44th minute of the CONCACAF semifinal in Frisco, Texas, strategically timing a late run at the back post to latch onto a cross from the left side by Janine Beckie.
It opened the floodgates for the heavily favoured Canadians.
“It’s massive for us,” Sinclair told reporters at Toyota Stadium. “It’s getting more and more difficult qualifying out of CONCACAF.”
The fifth-ranked Canadians had been frustrated early on after Panamanian coach Victor Suarez made the surprising decision to start Farissa Cordoba in net ahead of 17-year-old Yenith Bailey, a standout in the group stage. After the game, Suarez told reporters Bailey sat out with a sore shoulder, but should be ready for Wednesday’s third-place contest.
Within four minutes after halftime, though, Canada was up 3-0 thanks to Jessie Fleming and Sinclair, with her second of the game and career No. 177 — just seven shy of American Abby Wambach’s record.
“It’s my teammates that keep reminding me of it,” Sinclair said of her pursuit of the scoring mark. “Especially in this tournament, it’s just all about qualify- ing.”
Beckie and Rebecca Quinn would tack on goals before the 65th minute, while Adriana Leon, who subbed in for Sinclair in the 68th minute, brought her tournament-high total to six with a pair. Canadian coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller summed up the first half as “nervy” and said his team had expected to produce more chances while dominating possession at 69 per cent.
Sinclair had a tap-in goal called back early on after Beckie was ruled offside on a questionable call. She didn’t waste any time converting her second clear chance of the match.
“The first half wasn’t really what we wanted it to be, but we went into the locker room and said that we needed to get a bit more pace getting into the box, a bit more aggression getting into the box, and people wanting to get on the end of crosses,” Fleming said.
The 20-year-old was named player of the match for pulling the strings in Canada’s midfield, and while Sinclair and Leon led on the scoresheet it was midfielder Diana Matheson who left the field with the game ball after her 200th international cap.
The 34-year-old from Oakville ranks second in appearances for Canada behind Sinclair — who handed Matheson her captain’s armband when she was subbed out.
Next up for the Canadians is a shot at the CONCACAF championship on Wednesday night against the top-ranked United States, which advanced with a 6-0 victory over Jamaica in the late semifinal.
There’s one more World Cup spot still on the line, which will go to the winner of the thirdplace game between Panama and Jamaica.
It would be the first appearance in the sport’s showcase for either country.
Now that Canada has qualified for soccer’s main event next June in France, the team can focus on World Cup preparations — and how to beat the U.S. in particular.
The North American rivals have gone head-to-head 59 times since 1986. The U.S. has won three of their last five meetings, with two ties. They haven’t played each other since last year, a two-game series in which they tied1-1in Vancouver before the Canadians lost 3-1 in San Jose.
Heiner-Moller has been a big proponent of letting players enjoy the moment throughout the competition and took the same approach following Sunday’s win — while keeping in mind that there’s more work to be done.
“Right now, everyone needs to decompress a little bit,” Heiner-Moller said.
“We’ve qualified, so now we need to set a new goal.”
Canada automatically qualified as host of the last World Cup in 2015, but was knocked out in the quarterfinals. Their best finish was fourth place in 2003.