Soccer legends Marta of Brazil and Christine Sinclair of Canada are staring down history once again. Marta and Sinclair could become the first player — man or woman — to score in six World Cups.
The pair are in an elite club with Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to score in five World Cups, according to ESPN. Marta and Sinclair were the first to do so in 2019. Ronaldo joined them in 2022.
Sinclair had a chance from the penalty spot in Canada’s first group stage match against Nigeria but missed. She also failed to find the back of the net in Canada’s win over the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday.
She almost lost her chance to earn the honor when Brazil’s Marta took the field Monday in Brazil’s first match. Marta entered the game in the second half but failed to score.
Marta’s next chance is on Saturday against France. The last time she scored for Brazil was during a friendly in September 2021, and her last goal in a major international tournament was in the group stage of the Olympics in 2021, according to Football Reference. She’s appeared in seven games since.
If Marta doesn’t score on Saturday, Sinclair will have a chance on Monday.
This would not be the first record Sinclair or Marta has broken.
Marta’s 17 goals are the most World Cup goals scored by a man or woman, more than Ronaldo’s 15 and Pelé’s 12, according to NPR. She scored her first as a 17-year-old in 2003.
Sinclair is the world’s all-time leading international scorer. The honor is commonly given to Ronaldo, but Sinclair has scored 190 goals for Canada compared to Ronaldo’s 123 goals for Portugal.
The active player closest to catching Sinclair is American Alex Morgan, but sitting at 121 goals, she has a long ways to go to get anywhere near Sinclair’s record.
Both the 37-year-old Marta and 40-year-old Sinclair could also become the oldest to score at a women’s World Cup, according to the Olympics’ website. They would pass Brazil’s Formiga, who scored at 37 years and 98 days old in the 2015 World Cup.
Neither Marta or Sinclair have won the World Cup, and this will likely be the last chance for both of them. Before the tournament, Marta announced this would be her final World Cup. Sinclair hasn’t officially announced her decision, but it is largely speculated that it will be her last.
