Christine Sinclair and Desiree Scott can record personal milestones at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in Texas.
But Sinclair’s 159th goal and Scott’s 100th cap will hopefully just be signposts on Canada’s road to the Rio Olympics.
After a somewhat disappointing World Cup last summer on home soil, where Canada was beaten by England in the quarter-finals, John Herdman’s team hopes to recapture some of the magic that led to Olympic bronze four years ago in England.
Getting to Rio is Job 1 and that starts this week in Texas, where two Olympic berths from North and Central America and the Caribbean are up for grabs.
The eight-team qualifying tournament opens Wednesday with Group A play in Frisco, where the top-ranked U.S. plays No. 34 Costa Rica and No. 108 Puerto Rico faces No. 26 Mexico.
On Thursday, No. 11 Canada opens Group B play in Houston against No. 89 Guyana while No. 76 Guatemala takes on No. 48 Trinidad and Tobago.
After pool play, the top two teams in each group will play crossover matches with the semifinal winners advancing to Rio de Janeiro.
For the 32-year-old Sinclair, Canada’s talisman, it’s a chance at a third Olympics. En route the Canadian skipper can move past Mia Hamm into second place on the all-time women’s scoring list with one more goal, her 159th. American Abby Wambach tops the list with 184 goals.
Sinclair had no idea at a December tournament in Brazil that she was about to match Hamm.
“I’m kind of in disbelief and shock about it, to be honest,” she said. “When I started with the national team and even before that, Mia Hamm was the face of women’s soccer in the world. I remember thinking ‘Oh my God, she scored so many goals for the U.S.’ Just something I never thought would happen, someone I never though I I’d catch.
“I’m not going to lie, It will be nice to get another goal and move on from that,” she added.
Scott’s next cap, meanwhile, will be her 100th, which will elevate her to Canada’s current century club alongside Sinclair (232 caps) and fellow forward Melissa Tancredi (109), midfielders Diana Matheson (178) and Sophie Schmidt (137), fullback Rhian Wilkinson (168) and goalkeeper Erin McLeod (112).
The Houston roster features 13 players who were part of the World Cup Canada campaign and seven from the London Olympics.
But Herdman has blended youth with that experience, selecting seven players 20 years old and under including three teenagers: Deanne Rose (16) and Gabrielle Carle and Jessie Fleming (both 17).
“With these kids, the future is in great hands,” said Sinclair, who cites a different energy and excitement about the team.
“These kids have no baggage,” she added. “They’re just here to play and have fun and express themselves. It’s incredible to see. But I’m glad I’m not doing high school homework like they are having to do.”
While Fleming was part of the World Cup squad, the other newcomers come in fully versed in Canada’s tactics having played the same way on junior national teams.
In London, the average age of Herdman’s team was pushing 29 to 30. The average here is 25.
Herdman will lean on the veterans but will look to the youth to help provide pace in attack and fill a gap at left centre back in defence.
Herdman says Sinclair is Sinclair.
“She just brings Christine every game. The key is the players around her. And when they step up to new levels of performance and achieve their personal best, they take Christine to a new level.
“And that’s the key to Christine’s success with this Canadian team. She has to have players around here that are stepping up to new levels to give her the opportunities to do what she do, which is score goals.”
While the U.S. and Canada are heavy favourites to meet in the Texas final, Herdman cautions nothing can be taken for granted.
“The gap in women’s football has changed massively, similar to the men’s game … Going into this CONCACAF (tournament) Canada can’t have that mindset that this is an absolute given,” he said. “We’re going to have to work for this.”
The Canadian women learned that firsthand when they lost to Mexico in qualifying for the 2004 Athens Games.
“For those of us that experienced that, it’s one of those feelings you refuse to let happen again,” said Sinclair.