Canada Soccer announced today that the women’s national team is returning to British Columbia in December to play Australia in the final two matches of Christine Sinclair’s international career. Sinclair, who was born in Burnaby, BC., announced late last week that she will be retiring from international football at the end of 2023. She does so with the most goals any player has ever scored for their country with 190, in 327 caps for Canada. Five of those goals have come against Australia. CanWNT will open the series on Friday, December 1 at Starlight Stadium in Langford, BC., the home of the Canadian Premier League’s Pacific FC. They then play on Tuesday, December 5 at BC Place in Vancouver. Canada last met Australia during this summer’s World Cup, which was hosted in Australia and New Zealand, falling 4-0 to the Matildas in their final group match, one which eliminated them from the competition. Australia went on to reach the semifinals of that tournament, where they fell 3-1 to England. The Matildas are currently ranked 11th in the World. The matches will come as part of Canada’s continued preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The CanWNT also play a two-match series against Brazil, whom they meet in Montréal on October 28, before travelling to Halifax on October 31. That latter match, which has already sold out, will be played at the Wanderers Grounds, home of the Canadian Premier League’s Halifax Wanderers.
Written by:Mitchell Tierney