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Burnaby soccer icon Christine Sinclair to appear in sixth FIFA World Cup

The tournament takes place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to Aug. 20, 2023.
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Burnaby soccer icon Christine Sinclair.

Christine Sinclair and the Canadian women's national soccer team will have another chance to shine on the world stage. 

The Burnaby legend and the 2020 Olympic-champion squad qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Friday (July 8) with a 1-0 win over Panama. 

The tournament in Australia and New Zealand will be the eighth straight FIFA Women's World Cup appearance for Canada, and the sixth for Sinclair across her tenured career in red and white.

Canada moved to 2-0 after the win against Panama in the Concacaf Championship. The women also beat Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 in its opening match. 

They''re squaring up with Costa Rica today (July 11), looking to claim top spot in its group. 

Needless to say, the past two years have been some of the best for Sinclair's career. 

Sinclair finally claimed her Olympic gold in Tokyo when Team Canada upset Sweden in a thrilling shootout. 

She was honoured with the Best FIFA Special Award this year for being the top scorer in international play of any gender. 

On Jan. 29, 2020, the Burnaby product made world history when she scored international goal number 185, surpassing the previous all-time leader Abby Wambach of the United States. 

Since then, as of this publication, Sinclair has upped her total to 190 goals and 53 assists in 312 matches with Canada.

Canada has only made it out of the group stage three times at the FIFA Women's World Cup (2003, 2015 and 2019). 

The best finish at the tournament was fourth in 2003 in the U.S.

When Canada was a host country in 2015, the women reached the quarter-finals and were eliminated by a 2-1 decision to England.