Meet Christine Sinclair, Canada’s soccer superstar who has broken goal and appearance records at international level
THE world's all-time leading international goal scorer has announced her retirement from Canada's women's national team.
While Christine Sinclair might be stepping away from her national duties, she is still expected to be on the field with the Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) next season.
Who is Canadian soccer player Christine Sinclair?
Christine Margaret Sinclair is a professional soccer player who was born on June 12, 1983, in Burnaby, Canada.
A member of Canada's women's national team, Sinclair has represented the country in several World Cup and Olympic events, including Rio 2007, Beijing 2008, Guadalajara 2011, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020.
Along the way, Sinclair has won one gold medal (2020) and two bronze (2012 and 2016).
In October 2023, Sinclair shocked the world by announcing her retirement from Team Canada.
Read more on soccer
"Honestly, you can't play forever," the soccer star said, via ESPN.
"And this seems like a good time to be done."
While Sinclair might've confirmed her retirement, she did not provide a specific reason, but ESPN noted that she still planned to play for the Portland Thorns.
"After Tokyo, I knew I didn't want to play in Paris," Sinclair added.
Most read in Soccer
"And then I wanted to give the World Cup another shot [this year] just with our team's lack of success in World Cups in general. So, I knew it was coming to an end just based on what I wanted to do in terms of a timeline."
Her final games, which have yet to be announced, are expected to fall during the FIFA international window, ESPN notes.
How many goals has Christine Sinclair scored?
Since 2000, Sinclair has played in over 325 games, during which time, she has become the all-time international goalscorer.
During a 2020 Olympic qualifying game against Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sinclair broke Abby Wambach's record of 184 goals.
She has added six goals since then, putting her record at 190 as of this writing.
Some of her goals include 10 at the FIFA World Cup, 12 at the Olympic Games, and 46 at all Concacaf competitions, according to Team Canada.
How many World Cup appearances has Christine Sinclair had?
Sinclair made her Team Canada debut in March 2000 at the age of 16, which at the time, made her Canada's youngest-ever player.
Since then, she has appeared in six World Cup events, scoring in five of them.
Read More on The US Sun
She is the second player in history to score a goal in five World Cups, according to her Olympic biography.
The first player was Brazilian forward Marta, who accomplished the feat the same year as Sinclair, and then in 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to do so.