Canada icon Sinclair retiring from international duty: 'I have zero regrets'

A true Canadian icon is calling it quits on international soccer.

Christine Sinclair, who won a gold and two bronze medals at the Olympics, confirmed Friday that she'll retire from Canada duty at the end of the year. She plans to play one more season with the NWSL's Portland Thorns next year.

"I can sit here and know that I've literally done everything I can and given all of me to this national team since I was 16 years old," she told The Canadian Press' Neil Davidson.

"In terms of what I've done and knowing the work I've put into it, I have zero regrets. … I know I've done everything I can for as long as I can. And the team's in good hands moving forward."

The 14-time Canada Soccer Player of the Year winner is the all-time leader for international goals scored in men's or women's soccer with 190 from 327 senior appearances. Sinclair and men's soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo are the only players to score at five different World Cups.

Sinclair, 40, said she knew she wouldn't play in another Olympics after clinching gold in August 2021.

"After Tokyo, deep down inside, I knew I didn't want to play in Paris (in 2024)," she said. "The way the Tokyo Olympics ended, you can't beat it.

"I wanted to give it one more shot for the World Cup, just because I really thought we could be successful there and we hadn't been successful in a long time at World Cups."

Canada was eliminated during the group stage of the 2023 Women's World Cup. Sinclair's best finish with Canada was fourth place at the 2003 World Cup in the United States.

The native of Burnaby, British Columbia, has won three NWSL Championships over 11 seasons with the Portland Thorns.

Canada's women are set to play two friendlies against Brazil at the end of the month in Montreal and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team is expected to play two more home matches during the international window that runs Nov. 27 to Dec. 6, according to Davidson.