MELBOURNE — On the eve of her sixth FIFA Women’s World Cup, Canada captain Christine Sinclair acknowledged feeling familiar emotions.
“Honestly it’s like the same as my first World Cup,” Sinclair said some 24 hours before the seventh-ranked Canadians faced No. 40 Nigeria at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. “I just got to check out the pitch. I still get those nerves, those butterflies, that excitement as I did back in 2003 in my first one.
“This is why you play. This is why you spend all those hours, days, training when no one is for moments like today, tomorrow. Knowing that you’re ready to go and can’t wait to represent Canada.”
The World Cup opener against Nigeria (which kicks off Thursday night Canada time and Friday lunchtime local time), will mark the 324th international appearance for the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer (190 goals).
Sinclair said if she had been asked back in 2003 about the chances of playing in six World Cups, her answer would have been “no way.”
“I’ve been very lucky in my career and had some amazing teammates along the way that helped carry me through the down times,” she said. “I can’t believe I’m here, if I’m being honest. But (I’m) just ready to go.”
While the 40-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., is far more comfortable on the pitch than she is in front of a microphone, Sinclair knows her mind. That was clear in a deft performance at the pre-match news conference where the Canada captain handled questions ranging from her team’s ongoing labour dispute with Canada Soccer to Australia’s relationship with its indigenous people.
Asked whether she could point out a teammate who deserved extra attention for their play, Sinclair declined, saying she did not want to put that pressure on a single player.
“This team is full of rock stars and world-class players,” she said. “I’m not going to single out people. I’m just going to let them enjoy the ride.”
With Nigeria also battling its federation, the pre-match availabilities produced plenty of questions about off-field issues.
“The world of women’s football is very small and we all support each other,” said Sinclair. “I feel like each women’s team has to face their battles one at a time. Obviously this last year we’ve been facing ours and Nigeria (is) now with their federation. We fully support them. Every single player in this tournament deserves the world and deserves equal treatment from their federations.”
Sinclair said an interim deal with Canada Soccer covering compensation for this tournament “is about to get done.”
“Honestly we haven’t thought about it for one second these past couple of weeks (in Australia). We’re just focusing on playing,” she added, praising injured teammate and fellow player representative Janine Beckie for shouldering the bulk of the load in the negotiations with Canada Soccer back home.
Sinclair offered a lighter tone when asked what it means taking the field as reigning Olympic champion.
“I mean it’s got a nice ring to it, I’m not going to lie,” she said, drawling laughter.
Sinclair then turned serious.
“No, it doesn’t change a thing. As (coach) Bev (Priestman) said, around the world, we’re still overlooked. Which is fine by us. We were overlooked heading into Tokyo and we showed the word what we’re capable of. I think all it has done is helped us as players, helped us as a team, feel that confidence, know that we can beat any team in the world. It’s just fuelled us.”
“Once you experience that victory, you just want to do it again.” she added. “So it’s just motivated us to once again prove to the world what we’re capable of.”
There had been a question-mark over the health of Jessie Fleming, who had seen limited action earlier in the week in the portion of practice open to the media. The 25-year-old Chelsea midfielder was first out of the dressing room Thursday morning, however.
“Jessie trained today so we should have full squad available for the game,” said Priestman.
Nichelle Prince and Deanne Rose are both on the road back from Achilles injuries. Priestman said while Rose is ahead of Prince, in terms of timelines, both forwards are ahead of schedule. How many minutes either can play at this stage is an unknown, at least outside of the Canadian camp.
Like Canada, Nigeria features a 40-year-old captain in Onome Ebi who is also at her sixth World Cup.
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The veteran centre back made history four years ago in France when she became the first African footballer, male or female, to appear in five World Cups.
Brazil’s Formiga leads all women with seven World Cup appearances. Formiga, who also appeared in seven Olympics, retired from international football in November 2021 at the age of 43.
Asked about Ebi, Nigeria coach Randy Waldrum said she is a lot like Sinclair in terms of influence on and off the field.
“So I know what she brings to Canada and what’s she’s all about … I think Onome is very much the same,” said Waldrum, an American who coached against Sinclair at club level while he was in charge of the NWSL’s Houston Dash. “What she brings to us and Nigeria is exactly what Christine brings to Canada.”
After the Nigeria contest, the Canadian team flies 2,720 kilometres west to Perth to face No. 22 Ireland before returning to Melbourne for a July 31 date with No. 10 Australia that is expected to decide who tops Group B.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings signed forward Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract Monday, completing a deal with one of their best young players less than 72 hours before training camp begins.
Raymond will count $8.075 million against the salary cap through 2032. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent without a contract for the upcoming NHL season and was coming off setting career highs with 31 goals, 41 assists and 72 points.
The Red Wings have another one of those in defenceman Moritz Seider, who won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2021-22.
Detroit is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought dating to the Original Six franchise’s last appearance in 2016.
Raymond, a Swede who was the fourth pick in 2020, has 174 points in 238 games since breaking into the league.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kirk Cousins led a flawless last-minute drive for Atlanta and connected with Drake London for a 7-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left to give the Falcons a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night.
Saquon Barkley dropped a short pass that stopped the clock with 1:46 left and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal instead of a game-sealing first down. That was plenty of time for Cousins — especially against an Eagles defense playing soft coverage with a nonexistent pass rush.
The 36-year-old veteran, playing his second game since tearing his Achilles tendon last Oct. 29 while playing for Minnesota, shook off an uneven effort and hit Darnell Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
Cousins found London on a short pass to his right for the tying score, and Younghoe Koo put Atlanta (1-1) on top with a 48-yard extra point after London was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The go-ahead drive took just 65 seconds.
Jalen Hurts had his final pass intercepted by Jessie Bates III to seal Atlanta’s win and set off a wild celebration on the sideline.
The Eagles (1-1) went ahead on Hurts’ 1-yard tush push score with 6:47 left. Barkley finished with 95 yards on 22 carries in his home debut for Philadelphia, but his drop provided the Falcons with some hope.
And then Cousins started playing like the QB Atlanta thought it was getting when it signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract.
Cousins finished 20 of 29 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s first TD was a 41-yarder from Cousins to Mooney, who finished with three catches for 88 yards.
Hurts was 23 of 30 for 183 yards, including a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score.
Jake Elliott kicked two field goals for the Eagles. His 28-yarder with 1:39 left made it 21-15.
Atlanta kept stalling in the red zone, getting three field goals from Koo, before Cousins fired over the middle to Mooney, who shook loose from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and left him on the turf before he somersaulted into the end zone with 1:21 left in the third quarter for a 15-10 lead. Cousins failed on the 2-point conversion pass.
Hurts had some juice in his step during a second-quarter TD drive, running with abandon for big plays much like he did in the 2022 season. He spiked the ball in a rare, raw show of emotion on a 23-yard run, earning a delay-of-game penalty. He shrugged off the 5-yard setback and scrambled for 9 yards and 15 yards to move the Eagles to Atlanta’s 19.
With comedian Shane Gillis and actor Bradley Cooper among the fans cheering on the Eagles, Hurts connected with Smith in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard TD that made it 7-3.
Under new defensive coordinator Vince Fangio, the Eagles have established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Questionable call
Rather than take a chip-shot field goal from Elliott, the Eagles’ fourth-and-4 gamble at Atlanta’s 9-yard line in the first quarter failed when Hurts threw an incomplete pass.
Elliott kicked a 29-yarder with 4:31 left in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.
Running wild
Bijan Robinson ran for 97 yards for the Falcons. The Eagles stuffed him late on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 39.
Barkley was quiet until the go-ahead drive, a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. They went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive. Barkley had 40 yards rushing in the first half.
Foles honored
Former Eagles QB Nick Foles, who led the franchise to its only Super Bowl title, served as an honorary captain and led the crowd in a rendition of “Fly, Eagles, Fly.”
Injuries
The Falcons played without LB Nate Landman (calf, quad).
Up next
Atlanta hosts Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Sunday.
TORONTO – Singles star Leylah Fernandez and doubles specialist Gabriela Dabrowski will anchor Canada’s five-player lineup when the team tries to defend its Billie Jean King Cup title in mid-November.
The 26th-ranked Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open finalist from Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the top 100 of the WTA Tour’s singles rankings.
Dabrowski, from Ottawa, is ranked fourth on the doubles list. The 2023 U.S. Open women’s doubles champion won mixed doubles bronze with Felix Auger-Aliassime at the recent Paris Olympics.
Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., returns after a breakout performance last year, capped by her singles win in Canada’s 2-0 victory over Italy in the final. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino is also back and Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion from Mississauga, Ont., returns to the squad for the first time since 2022.
“Winning the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023 was a dream come true for us, and not only that, but I feel like we made a statement to the world about the strength of this nation when it comes to tennis,” Canada captain Heidi El Tabakh said Monday in a release. “Once again, we have a very strong team this year with Bianca joining Leylah, Gaby, Rebecca and Marina, making it an extremely powerful team that is more than capable of going all the way.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to make Canada proud, and we’ll do our best to bring the same level of effort and excitement that we had in last year’s finals.”
Fernandez, who beat Jasmine Paolini to clinch Canada’s first-ever title at the competition, is ranked No. 42 in doubles.
Canada, which received an automatic berth as defending champion, will play the winner of the first-round tie between Great Britain and Germany on Nov. 17 at Malaga’s Martin Carpena Arena.
Australia, Italy and wild-card entry Czechia also received first-round byes. The tournament, which continues through Nov. 20, also includes host Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Poland, Japan and Romania.
Stakusic is up 27 spots to No. 128 in the latest world singles rankings. Marino is at No. 134 and Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, is ranked 167th.
Canada will look to become the first team since Czechia in 2016 to successfully defend its Billie Jean King Cup title.
Malaga will also host the Nov. 19-24 Davis Cup Final 8. The Canadian men qualified over the weekend with a 2-1 victory over Great Britain in Manchester.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
