Sinclair Named to Four Nation Cup Roster

Portland Thorns' forward and Canada's all-time leading goalscorer Christine Sinclair has been named to Canada's Four Nation Cup roster by head coach John Herdman, the Canadian Soccer Association and Thorns announced Monday.

The Four Nation Cup, featuring Canada, China, Mexico, and South Korea will take place from January 11-15 in Shenzen, China, kicking off a busy year in Canadian soccer, as they host the Women's World Cup from June 6-July 5, followed by the Pan-American Games in Toronto from July 11-26.

Sinclair was recently named the 2014 BMO Canadian Player of the Year, started all 11 matches for Canada, recording 1 goal and has 148 goals in her international career, second among active players and third all-time in international women's soccer.

Portland Thorns Press Release

CHRISTINE SINCLAIR NAMED TO CANADA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER FOR FOUR NATIONS CUP
Thorns FC forward set to compete for Canada in China beginning Jan. 11

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Thorns FC forward Christine Sinclair has been selected to the Canada Women’s National Team roster for the upcoming Four Nations Cup in China, it was announced today.

Canada opens the tournament against Korea Republic on Sunday, Jan. 11, and then faces CONCACAF-rival Mexico on Tuesday, Jan. 13, before playing its final game against host China PR on Thursday, Jan. 15. All three matches will be played at Shenzhen Stadium in Shenzhen, China.

The 2014 BMO Canadian Player of the Year, Sinclair played every minute of all 11 matches for the Canada Women’s National Team in 2014, recording one goal. In her career, the Canada Women’s National Team captain has 214 international caps and 148 goals, which ranks third all-time in women’s international soccer.

Sinclair appeared in 23 matches (22 starts) for Thorns FC during the 2014 NWSL regular season. In her second season with the club, Sinclair tallied seven goals and one assist, while leading the NWSL in shots (77) and shots on goal (40).

Canadian Soccer Association Press Release

Canada WNT roster set for China’s Four Nation Cup

A monumental year for women’s soccer in Canada gets underway with a tournament in China as Canada’s Women’s National Team will get some early tournament action against Korea Republic, Mexico, China PR.

For the tournament, Head Coach John Herdman has called in 23 players as the FIFA Women’s World Cup squad starts to take shape but still with time in hand for players to further strengthen their cases for inclusion at this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™.

"The team is starting to form as we get closer to the FIFA Women’s World Cup. We’ve been able to get access to our young players who have been pretty much locked in the NCAA system for the past three or four months," said Herdman. "But we’ve added those players to the squad and the Centralized Development Program (CDP) group to evaluate them and their readiness."

The team opens competition on Sunday 11 January against Korea Republic before their second game against CONCACAF rivals Mexico on Tuesday 13 January.

But it’s the final game against China PR (15 January) that will perhaps be the most interesting as both teams will play in Group A at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in June in Edmonton, AB.

"We’ve been thinking about this for the last few weeks in how to approach that particular fixture and we’ve got some ideas on either going to try and go for a confidence booster or try to keep our cards up our sleeve," said Herdman. "We may try to go for a balance of those when choosing our lineup and the tactics we use."

All three games will take place at the Shenzhen Stadium in Shenzhen, CHN.

Full reports will be posted to canadasoccer.com following each matches.

CANADA
GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Houston Dash
GK- Stephanie Labbe | SWE / KIF Örebro
GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Chicago Red Stars
D- Kadeisha Buchanan | USA / West Virginia University
D- Allysha Chapman | SWE / Eskilstuna United DFF 
D- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Seattle Reign FC
D- Marie-Eve Nault | SWE / KIF Örebro
D- Rebecca Quinn | USA / Duke University
D- Rhian Wilkinson | CAN / Comètes de Laval
D- Sura Yekka | CAN / Brams United
D- Emily Zurrer | SWE / Jitex BK
M- Jessie Fleming | CAN / London NorWest United
M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Houston Dash
M- Ashley Lawrence | USA / West Virginia University
M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
M- Desiree Scott | ENG / Notts County 
F- Janine Beckie | USA / Texas Tech University
F- Josee Bélanger | CAN / Comètes de Laval
F- Nkem Ezurike | USA / Boston Breakers
F- Jonelle Filigno | USA / Sky Blue FC
F- Adriana Leon | USA / Chicago Red Stars
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns
F- Melissa Tancredi | USA / Chicago Red Stars