For Christine Sinclair, scoring her 185th goal to set the record for most goals in international soccer history was a relief.
“It’s been something that’s obviously been on my mind,” Sinclair said in an interview on Tim and Sid Thursday. “It’s just nice to get it over with, in a good way, early in this tournament.”
Sinclair scored her 184th and 185th goals for Canada in an 11-0 rout of St. Kitts and Nevis at the Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship on Wednesday. Her 185th goal in the 26 minute of play put her past former American striker Abby Wambach for the new international record.
After the game, the Canadian soccer forward said she walked into a locker room covered with plastic and champagne bottles.
“They conveniently made me walk in last, I had no idea what was happening,” Sinclair said. “It was quite the scene.
“I’ve grown up with some of them on this national team, and to be able to share the experience with them makes it so much more special.”
Sinclair joined Canada’s senior national team when she was only 16-years-old, making her debut at the 2000 Algarve Cup. After scoring her first international goal in her second game, the idea of trying to catch American Mia Hamm, who held the record at that time, crossed her mind.
“I thought it was insane how many goals she had scored in her career,” Sinclair said.
While there are multiple roles Sinclair plays on Canada’s national team, one of the most important roles she said she has is to help inspire the next generation of female athletes and show them that anything is possible.
“When I was growing up, I was looking up to male athletes. Roberto Alomar was my hero,” Sinclair said. “So now it’s nice to know that girls have female role models to look up to. They can now aspire to win majors in tennis, win Olympic medals in soccer. It’s pretty special.”
For the past few years, Sinclair has said she plans on aiming to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, then reassess her next steps. But on Thursday the 36-year-old hinted that she is uncertain about what the future holds for her in soccer.
“For me, I obviously still have the passion and the competitive fire in me to keep going,” she said. “Who knows what will happen?”
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