Tuesday December 5, 2023 | VANCOUVER, BC [Updated December 6, 2023]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Click here for December 1 game coverage (final score 5:0 for Canada’s win at Starlight Stadium in Langford).
Dec 5 Game coverage:
Kick off at 7 pm, in front of a sold-out crowd of over 45,000 fans at BC Place Stadium (renamed as Christine Sinclair Stadium for the night), with many people not staying in the seats that they bought but creating a standing-room only environment. [Official attendance as announced during the game: 48,112]
There was a lot of ceremony ahead of the actual match but that was followed by a toned-down action scene on the field in the first half.
One of the key things about Sinclair is her ability to read the game and strategize on the field, including creating opportunities for her team mates.
This is the 13th match for Canada in this season, the 16th for the Australians.
It was a pretty quiet game up to 22 minutes, with Canada playing the ball right to left a few times with little progress. A little more movement by the Canadian team would have drawn the Australian team out of position.
Perhaps the sad significance of this being Sinclair’s last-ever game made for a lacklustre first 30 minutes of the game.
In a bit of higher energy, the first goal was scored for Canada by Quinn (5) at 40 minutes, in a shot set up by Sinclair (12).
Three Australian players got medical checkups on field, none of them evidently too serious.
Two additional minutes were added to the first half, taking the clock to 47 minutes.
A little more energy in the second half, but no more scores up to 54 minutes. She left the field at 57 minutes and passed the captain’s band to Sophie Schmidt.
Also slow in the second half. It’s as if the game has no personality… all of it gone with Christine Sinclair. But the Australian team has been consistently strong all evening, and upping their energy after 74 minutes.
Canadian culture doesn’t build outwardly aggressive fighters. It will take more work to bring that out externally in the Canadian women’s team.
All of a sudden some energy around 83 minutes, with two near-goals by Canada.
Down time to assess an injury to Canadian player Buchanan (3) saw four minutes added to the game.
Final score 1:0 to Canada for a win.
Overall it was a low-key game on-field, as if all the energy was used up in pre-celebration of Sinclair’s career wrap-up. She described the evening to media right after the game: “Surreal and the perfect ending”.
Attending the game to represent the province were Premier David Eby, along with Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister Lana Popham; Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming; Solicitor General Mike Farnworth; and Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Minister Josie Osborne.
After some down-time, next year Sinclair is going to play a year of pro-soccer with Portland.
Pre-match:
At tonight’s Canada-Australia match at BC Place in Vancouver, the stadium will be renamed as Christine Sinclair Place for the evening.
This is Sinclair’s 313th game start, and her 331st cap.
Last week in Langford at the Canada-Australia match at Starlight Stadium, December 12 was declared Christine Sinclair Day — noting her jersey number and that her birthday is on the 12th (of June).
Tonight’s high-profile event — following the popular match in Langford on December 1 — marks the final international on-field appearance of Christine Sinclair’s 24-year legendary career. It’s expected to be a significant high-profile sporting event of 2023.
Sinclair announced in October that she’d be retiring from the CanWNT by the end of the calendar year. She is the all-time leading international goalscorer in Canadian soccer (women and men).
Yesterday BC Premier David Eby said that Sinclair is a sports inspiration to everyone in BC, not just women and girls. He will be attending the game.
Broadcast on TSN and OneSoccer:
For the December 5 match — with the help of Canadian Soccer Business (CSB), the deal to broadcast Canada’s match against Australia on December 5 on TSN and OneSoccer was completed and made possible with the support of corporate partners CIBC and Visa.
Theinternational friendly match will kick off at 7 pm PT/10 pm ET at Vancouver’s BC Place — at which time the stadium will be renamed “Christine Sinclair Place” for the evening.
“We would like to thank MEDIAPRO Canada and TSN, and most importantly our corporate partners at CIBC and VISA for ensuring this match gets the distribution fans of Canadian soccer deserve,” said Martijn Bakx, CEO, MEDIAPRO Canada.
“OneSoccer’s commitment to provide Canadian soccer fans with the most compelling stories in the Canadian game continues with this historical match recognizing Christine Sinclair as the most iconic soccer star in Canadian history,” said Bakx.
“The broad distribution of this game is a celebration of Christine’s tremendous career and a testament to her enormous impact on soccer in the country. I can only hope her legacy continues to inspire fans and stakeholders of the game to believe in the power of soccer in Canada,” said Bakx in a news release Nov 30 from the Canadian Premier League (CPL).
Sinclair’s profile:
Sinclair has led six FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments, four matches in the Olympics and four Olympic medals. She has the most international goals scored in women’s history.
This two-match series for Canada against Australia will be their first meeting with the Matildas since last summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, where the Australians went all the way to the semifinals as tournament hosts, beating Canada in the final match of the group stage. The game in Langford on December 1 saw Sinclair not get to the field until about 63 minutes in, perhaps saving her energy for tonight’s game.
As it stands, Canada sits 10th in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, while Australia are one spot behind in 11th.
Comment from CIBC:
“Christine’s career has inspired countless athletes, women, and girls around the world, and we are so proud to call her an ambassador for our bank, and we are looking forward to continuing working with her in the future to reach our shared ambition of creating a more inclusive, diverse and equitable game,” said Andrew Greenlaw, Vice-President, Sponsorship, Community and Brand, CIBC.
Comment from Visa:
“We are proud of our long-standing relationship with Christine Sinclair, and are thrilled to play a part in honouring her legacy by helping to bring the broadcast of her final match with the national team to Canadians, nationwide,” said Heather Nobes, Head of Marketing, Visa Canada.
“The inspiring leadership Christine has brought to the sport will leave a lasting impact and we look forward to continuing to collaborate with her to support the growth of the women’s game. Team Visa thanks and congratulates Christine on this significant milestone.”
RELATED:
Langford’s Starlight Stadium crowd honours soccer-great Christine Sinclair (December 1, 2023)
Christine Sinclair’s final CanWNT match to air on TSN & OneSoccer (December 1, 2023)
Goldstream Food Bank to benefit from Starlight Stadium city-suite auction (November 28, 2023)
CanWNT names squad for Christine Sinclair’s final two matches, against Australia in December (November 23, 2023)
Soccer business: CPL Commissioner & CSB CEO rolled into one (February 9, 2022)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
We cover news that matters. Since 2008 on south Vancouver Island, including now the BC Legislative Assembly and the provincial angle on things. Founder and editor Mary P Brooke.