By Canadian Press

Captain Christine Sinclair to wrap up Canada career with two December games in B.C.

Oct 23, 2023 | 12:09 PM

Canada captain Christine Sinclair will wrap up her international career in December with two games in her backyard.

The 10th-ranked Canadian women will face 11th-ranked Australia on Dec. 1 at Starlight Stadium in Langford, B.C., and Dec. 5 at Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium. The co-host Matildas ended Canada’s World Cup campaign this summer with a 4-0 win that consigned the Canadians to third place in Group B and an early trip home.

Sinclair announced plans last week to retire from international football at the end of the year but will spend one more season with her club team, the NWSL’s Portland Thorns.

First up for the 36-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., are two games against No. 9 Brazil, on Saturday in Montreal and Oct. 31 in Halifax. Sinclair is the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer with 190 goals in 327 appearances.

Canada has an all-time 8-8-3 record against Australia, which finished fourth at the World Cup after losing 2-0 to Sweden in the bronze-medal game and 3-1 to England in the semifinal.

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The Canadians had beaten Australians in three straight games prior to the World Cup loss.

The Olympic champion Canadians are coming off a 4-1 aggregate victory over Jamaica in a September Olympic qualifying playoff series.

Brazil, which like Canada failed to survive the group round at the World Cup, has already qualified for the Paris Olympics. Australia begins its Olympic qualifying campaign in this month’s international window with games against Iran, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Australia coach Tony Gustavsson’s 23-player roster for the Asian qualifiers features 21 members of the World Cup squad, including captain Sam Kerr and vice-captain Steph Catley. The new faces are under-23 internationals Amy Sayer and Charlie Rule.

The Canadian women are 13-4-3 all-time in British Columbia, most recently hosting Nigeria in a two-match series at B.C. Place and Starlight Stadium in April 2022.

The Nigeria games were part of a “celebration tour” to honour the Olympic champions.

Canada’s 2-0 win at B.C. Place on April 8, 2020, served as a celebration for Sinclair setting the goal-scoring record. Three days later, Sinclair added to her total with a goal in Canada’s 2-2 comeback draw with the Super Falcons.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2023.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press