Sinclair, Wambach in close goal race

Canada captain Christine Sinclair has Abby Wambach in her sights as she aims to overhaul the United States forward in the all-time goalscoring charts.

Sinclair set a national record by scoring in Canada's 2-1 friendly defeat by Brazil on Tuesday. In scoring her 17th goal of the season, the 29-year-old also moved onto an international haul of 137 goals - putting her within one goal of reaching USA rival Wambach on 138.

Wambach is currently second on the all-time international scoring list behind former USA star Mia Hamm, who retired on 158 goals after helping USA win gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Sinclair, who has been named Canadian player of the year seven years in succession, will be appearing at her second Olympic tournament, after having scored twice for Canada four years ago in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Athens 2004 gold medalist Wambach will be looking to make up for lost time after missing Beijing 2008 because of a broken leg.

Canada fell to USA in the quarter-finals at Beijing 2008, and Sinclair knows there won't be any easy games this time around. "We have a very difficult group," said Sinclair.

"We have Japan, the defending world cup champions, South Africa, who we don’t know a lot about but are sure to bring a good fight, and Sweden, who we have found off and on success against over the years. If we're going to advance we have to play a complete game, each game."

Canada open their London 2012 campaign against Japan on 25 July at City of Coventry Stadium.

 

Wambach weighs club options
Wambach, meanwhile, is talking to clubs from Japan and Europe about a transfer following the collapse of the United States-based Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) league in May. The 32-year-old forward was player-coach at Florida-based team magicJack until their franchise was ended by WPS in October 2011.

 

The league has since ended its operations and Wambach, the second-highest scorer in the history of the USA women's team behind Mia Hamm with 138 goals from 182 games, will decide on her future after trying to add to the gold medal she won at Athens 2004.

 

"A lot definitely depends on how this tournament ends up," said Wambach, who scored the winning goal in extra time in the Athens 2004 final against Brazil. "You have to be smart about the choices you make and playing overseas would definitely be a possibility.

"I have had a lot of interest from Japan, Sweden and France. The best thing for the Japanese clubs was the fact their team won the world cup in 2011.

"I am sure every single team competing in the Olympics is trying to secure a gold medal because it can help any professional leagues going on in their home countries. I know we are doing that in the hope we can kick start another league again.

"I don't think any firm, official, financial offers have come in from Japan. It is in the very early talks. But I am not going to waste their time if I don't have the ability to make a final decision about that."

 

Wambach missed the USA's gold medal win at Beijing 2008 because of injury and was part of the team that lost to Japan in a penalty shoot-out in the final of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup™ in Germany.

 

She is desperate to end her eight-year wait for success in a major tournament, but accepts women's football is becoming more competitive. "It feels a bit like an eternity (since Athens 2004) - especially as we were so close in the 2011 [FIFA Women's] World Cup," said Wambach.

 

"That's the name of the game, though. We dedicate our lives to earning the chance to win championships and not running rings round teams. The game has evolved and the teams we are facing are so much stronger than they were ten years ago."

 

Sumber : FIFA