Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair have spent the past two weeks chasing each other, chasing history and chasing a place in the London Olympics.
Part three was accomplished Friday. Wambach and the U.S. women's soccer team qualified for the Summer Games with a victory against Costa Rica, and Sinclair and the Canadians did the same a few hours later with a victory against Mexico.
Now for a little competitive fun. The United States and Canada will meet today (8 p.m., NBCSP Ch. 56) in the championship game of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, and with the Olympics berths decided, it will be for bragging rights.
"You try telling the players it's a glorified friendly when they play against the U.S.," coach John Herdman of Canada said. "Nah. The sleeves are off straightaway."
The teams feature the two most prolific active goal-scorers in the world in Wambach and Sinclair. They played on alternate nights during the group phase, and it almost seemed as if one was trying to top the other. Sinclair opened with four goals against Haiti; Wambach followed with two against the Dominican Republic. Sinclair scored one against Cuba; Wambach scored two against Guatemala.
Wambach then went scoreless against Mexico and Costa Rica, and Sinclair added two more against both teams.
Where do they stand now? It's a tie. Each player has 129 career goals. They've both passed Germany's Birgit Prinz to move into third place all-time, one behind Kristine Lilly and well behind Mia Hamm's record of 158.
"I think it's just going to be a matter of time whenever Sincy or I end up breaking Mia's record," Wambach said. "Obviously we want to stay healthy and contribute to goals scored for our team. But, quite honestly, I've said this from the beginning — I'd give away every record, individual, that I've ever won for a world championship, and I think that Sincy would probably say the same thing.
"But it's cool, it's amazing to be alongside such a fantastic soccer player like her. She's the essence of the blue-collar worker, coming from a country who generally speaking hasn't competed well in the world championships."
Sinclair said of the record: "I actually think that most likely neither of us think about it too much. We both play on successful national teams, and we both play forward for that team, and we're expected to score goals. Usually when the U.S. or Canada is winning, it involves us scoring."
They have different playing styles. Wambach is always hanging around the goal and has the best header in the women's game. Sinclair plays a more withdrawn position to give her more versatility on the attack.
Their personalities are different, too. Wambach has the gift of gab; Sinclair is a reluctant star. For many years, she was just about the only reason to watch the Canadian women's team, although the talent around her has improved considerably in recent years.
"Canada is a very good side — with the exception of Sinclair," coach Leonardo Cuellar of Mexico said. "She's in another world."
Today's game will be the 51st between the countries. Canada has three victories, and five games have ended in ties. The U.S. team has been a world power for more than two decades; Canada has been trying to catch up.
"They don't frighten us," Herdman said. "But they're a team that we'd love to tip over on home side. They don't come up here very often, and I hope the whole of Vancouver rock on and give us a hand beating the Americans."
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