Meet the World Cup favorites: Can Sinclair lead Canada to glory?

With the Women’s World Cup just days away, we’re taking an in-depth look at the five perceived favorites by examining their strengths, weaknesses, and title prospects. To kick things off, here’s a look at Christine Sinclair and Canada.

Fact file

• FIFA ranking: No. 5
• Best World Cup finish: Fourth place (2003)
• Manager: Kenneth Heiner-Moller

What you need to know

This one has a different feel to it.

Canada embarks on its latest quest looking to exorcise demons of World Cups past, and according to captain Christine Sinclair, this time is different.

“I can honestly say I’ve been waiting my entire career for this team,” Sinclair recently told The Canadian Press. “We’re just so much more talented than we’ve ever been.”

Few would know better than Sinclair, who enters a record fifth World Cup just three goals shy of tying retired USWNT forward Abby Wambach’s record of 184 international goals.

Sinclair has seen it all. As a 20-year-old making her World Cup debut in 2003, she scored three goals and helped Canada to an unexpected fourth-place finish. She was there in 2007 when the team failed to progress beyond the group stage, and again in 2011 when Les Rouges scored just a solitary goal en route to three losses. The 2015 tournament on home soil offered an opportunity to improve on past results, but Canada slumped to a quarterfinal defeat to underdog England.

“My time on the national team has been a roller coaster, a journey, ups and downs,” the 35-year-old admitted in May.

Four years after that bitter disappointment, fifth-ranked Canada appears a legitimate threat to lift a maiden World Cup. Coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller’s balanced squad features reliable veterans like Sinclair and defensive midfield lynchpin Desiree Scott, and the next generation of stars, including Janine Beckie, Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence, and teen striker extraordinaire Jordyn Huitema.

A tidy defensive record in the lead-up to the World Cup has only increased optimism in the Canada camp, as Heiner-Moller’s charges conceded just once in nine unbeaten matches this year.

Group stage outlook

It’s deja vu for Canada after then-manager John Herdman led his side into a group stage in 2015 that featured the Netherlands and New Zealand. Africa’s second-ranked entry, Cameroon, completes Group E, which features two clear favorites in the Canadians and Dutch, and two teams hoping to be one of four third-place finishers to sneak into the knockout stage.

Both Canada and the Netherlands should head into the group closer on June 20 in Reims on six points with top spot to play for. The winner of Group E gets the runner-up from Group D (England, Scotland, Argentina, or Japan), while the second-placed side draws the bridesmaids from Group F (U.S., Thailand, Chile, Sweden).

Projected starting XI

Key player: Christine Sinclair

No surprise here. Sinclair’s influence on Canada’s current setup extends beyond her goals. The tuneup fixture against Mexico at BMO Field in Toronto was a good example of Sinclair’s versatility, as the 35-year-old interchanged between a deep playmaker and a streaking runner whose end-line cutbacks routinely found their intended targets.

One of the benefits of coach Heiner-Moller’s reduced 27-woman squad during World Cup preparations was that it forged lasting on-pitch alliances. It was on full display against Mexico as Beckie and Nichelle Prince routinely swapped wings and combined well with Sinclair. With nine World Cup goals, Sinclair is within striking distance of Marta’s record of 15, though the Brazilian legend will be looking to add to her own tally.

Breakout star: Jordyn Huitema

Three teenagers have cracked the roster, but the excitement surrounding Huitema’s emergence stands out. Julie Grosso is a composed midfielder that can deputize for Sophie Schmidt, and Jayde Riviere may challenge Allysha Chapman at left-back, but it’s Huitema, 18, who fits the profile of a future megastar.

Huitema’s recent move to French behemoths Paris Saint-Germain signals as much, and if Canada is looking for scoring off the bench, it could do worse than call for the lanky striker. Deceivingly quick, Huitema has shown heaps of potential with a half-dozen goals in 21 international appearances, and at a hair short of 6-feet, the British Columbia-born forward provides an immense target for crosses.

Fans should be happy if …

Canada wins the World Cup. Teams ranked fifth in the world should harbor such ambitions, and with a perfect 2019 tethered to a staunch defensive record, the Canadians are in form.

Winning Group E will be paramount to bettering 2015’s quarterfinal dismissal, as will avoiding their bogey side, the U.S., until the tournament’s latter stages. Canada’s last defeat came against Jill Ellis’ charges in the final of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship in October 2018.