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Christine Sinclair's PK secures World Cup-opening win for Canada

Graham Watson

Christine Sinclair prevented Canada from flopping in its opening game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup by slotting a penalty kick into the side netting and securing a 1-0 victory against China in stoppage time.

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Sinclair's penalty kick came after Zhao Rong mauled Adriana Leon two minutes into stoppage time. After that, it was merely a formality for Sinclair, who is Canada’s all-time leading scorer.

Sinclair’s goal was the latest go-ahead goal in regulation in Women's World Cup history.

It saved what could have been a huge stumble for the Canadians, who are favored to advance out of Group A and make a run in the tournament. The host nation dominated the game, but just couldn’t get past goalkeeper Wang Fei, who made three saves and saw a Canadian shot glance off the crossbar in the first half. In fact, one of the best opportunities for the Canadians came from Sinclair in the 82nd minute when she tried to finesse the ball past Fei and ended up kicking it right to her.

Canada has three points and now sits atop Group A with Netherlands and New Zealand to play this evening. Canada will face New Zealand on Thursday.

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