Christine Sinclair is a former professional soccer player who played as a striker for the Canada women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2023. On October 23, 2023, she announced her retirement from the Canada women's team, her 190 goals in 331 matches ranked first in most career international goals scored by a female or male soccer player worldwide ahead of Abby Wambach's 184 goals, who Sinclair equalled and passed on January 29, 2020. She surpassed Mia Hamm's 158 goals in February 2016. The all-time leading goal scorer and most-capped player of the Canadian national team, Sinclair was also its captain.
Sinclair made her debut for the senior team at age 16 at the 2000 Algarve Cup, where she was the tournament's leading scorer with three goals. She scored seven goals for Canada at the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, which tied for the tournament's lead. Her three goals at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup helped lead Canada to the team's first fourth-place finish (a team best at the time since the inaugural 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup).
At the 2012 London Olympics, Sinclair broke the record of most goals scored in Olympic women's soccer and was awarded the Golden Boot after scoring two goals against South Africa, one against Great Britain, and a hat-trick against the United States in the semifinal. Her performance earned her the honour of Canada's flag bearer in the closing ceremony as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Sinclair was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017, and FIFA honored her for breaking the international goalscoring record with a special award at The Best FIFA Football Awards in December 2020.
International goals