In the 64th minute of Canada’s win over Australia on Friday night local time, the sold-out crowd finally got what they came to see. Christine Sinclair, for the penultimate time, came onto the pitch to represent her country.
Just moments prior, Adriana Leon had somehow been afforded an island of space inside the Matildas’ six-yard box to head home Sydney Collins’ centring ball to make it 5-0 for the hosts, the game’s ultimate scoreline. A buoyant moment on a magnificent night for Canadian football. And a sequence representative of the outright domination they had held over the second-string side run out by their opponents.
