Canada won the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying final Monday with a 1-0 victory over Mexico.
Christine Sinclair scored the game’s only goal when she finished a penalty kick in the 54th minute. Mexico’s Veronica Perez caused the goal with an obvious handball in the box, for which she was sent off and Mexico was reduced to 10 players. The goal was Sinclair’s sixth of the tournament and capped a magical run that saw the Canadian’s score 17 goals in five matches and not concede any.
It is the second time that Canada has won the CONCACAF crown, but the first in which the United States participated in the tournament. Canada won the 1998 CONCACAF Women’s Championship on home soil, but the U.S. did not participate since it automatically qualified for the 1999 Women’s World Cup as the host.
Mexico proved tough yet again in front of a rowdy home crowd. Both Mexico and Canada will now focus their attention on the Women’s World Cup in June, with both qualified for by reaching the CONCACAF final.
