What happened at the World Cup and what’s next for Christine Sinclair?
Mizuki Kinoshita (She/Her) // Contributor
Yohahnah Loker (She/Her) // Illustrator
Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world, with upwards of 250 million players in 200 countries. The FIFA Women’s World Cup, the highest-level women’s soccer tournament in the world, was held this year in Australia and New Zealand.
Canada’s biggest achievements have included reaching fourth place in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup and becoming champions at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. However, this year the Women’s National Team did not advance past the group stage. Canada tied Nigeria 0-0, they won against Ireland 2-1 and they lost to Australia 4-0.
At the start of the tournament, Canada was ranked seventh in the FIFA ranking, making them the highest-placed team in this group. Australia was ranked 10th, Ireland was ranked 22nd, and Nigeria was ranked 40th in the FIFA ranking. When analyzing the games, one can see the team managed to pass the ball well. Julia Grosso, Ashley Lawrence, and Cloé Lacasse stood out with their dribbling skills. Unfortunately, the team’s defence as a whole and poor ability to defend against corner kicks likely played a part in their losses. Additionally, the team needs more accuracy going forward. With many opportunities to score they left the World Cup having only scored two goals.
Team Canada has one more month to prepare for the Olympic qualifying games in September. To qualify for the Olympics, Canada must win against Jamaica on September 22 and 26. Despite the FIFA rankings not always being accurate to how teams perform on game day, it’s worth noting that Canada is ranked seventh, and Jamaica 43rd.
Christine Sinclair is one of the most famous soccer players, not only in Canada but worldwide. She is 40 years old and showed extreme motivation for the 2023 World Cup. Many sources stated that this would have been her last World Cup. No one knows if she will retire or continue to play; however, she will definitely be a key player when Canada faces Jamaica. She has a lot of experience playing in international games. Even if she does not play on the pitch, it will still be valuable to her team members to have her there. Although her potential last World Cup didn’t go as planned, she will have an opportunity to end on a higher note if the team can qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
Fans can hope she will show up on the pitch in September against Jamaica and then hopefully the Olympics in 2024. Tokyo 2020 was a gold medal-winning year for Canada. Maybe the Olympics is what it will take to get Canada going again. If the team can perform, hopefully Sinclair can have the send-off she deserves.