Christine Sinclair retires from Canada women's national team

Christine Sinclair played in her sixth career World Cup with Canada in 2023. (Alex Grimm/FIFA via Getty Images)

Christine Sinclair is retiring from the Canada women’s national team.

With 190 goals in 327 games for Canada, the 40-year-old forward steps away as the all-time leading international scorer. She won an Olympic gold medal in 2021, and she played in her sixth World Cup tournament in 2023.

“Honestly, you can’t play forever,” Sinclair told Reuters. “And this seems like a good time to be done.”

Yet while she is hanging up her boots on the international stage, as she teased in an Instagram post Thursday night before officially announcing her retirement Friday, she plans to play another season for the NWSL’s Portland Thorns.

The Thorns captain is leading her team into the 2023 playoffs. As the No. 2 seed, Portland has a bye into the semifinal round on Nov. 5, where the defending champions will face either the North Carolina Courage or Gotham FC.

Sinclair also will make a few more appearances for Canada as a send-off tour during an upcoming international window, from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5.

“The way the schedule is lining up, it’ll be a nice way to end it,” Sinclair said.