Canada qualified for the Rio 2016 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament following a 3:1 win over Costa Rica in the CONCACAF semi-final. Christine Sinclair, Canada's forever captain, led the way with goals on either side of the break.

Sinclair's brace was briefly cut in half by a Raquel Rodríguez penalty, but later complemented by a Deanne Rose insurance goal towards the end of the memorable win at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, TX, USA. Canada now advance to another CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship final.

For Sinclair, it was the 160th and 161st goals of her international career.

From the first quarter of an hour, there were no real threats on goal as both teams looked for an advantage. There were a few long shots and a free kick, but patience was the name of the game with the score knotted 0-0. In the 15th minute, Melissa Herrera may have thought she was going to break in on goal, but Allysha Chapman was back in support to help goalkeeper McLeod neutralise the rush.

The deadlock then broke in the 17th minute from a Josée Bélanger run down the right side. Bélanger’s cross flew into the box, above the centrally positioned Rose and a group of Costa Rica defenders. The ball fell to Sinclair who, amazingly unmarked, controlled the ball to one bounce and then fired it past the goalkeeper Dinnia Diaz.

In the 33rd minute, Ashley Lawrence sent a ball to Rose in the box, but closely marked Rose's ball bounced off Katherine Alvarado towards the line. Diana Matheson tried to convert down the right side, but the angle was too tight to beat Diaz.

In the 39th minute, Sinclair created her own space inside the box with a little dance off the ball. She turned and shot the ball off a Costa Rica arm, but no penalty was called by the officials.

In the dying minutes of the first half, a trio of yellow cards were interspersed by a pair of Canada free kicks. On one impressive battle, it was captain v captain until Shirley Cruz fouled Sinclair.

Despite the chances, the score remained 1-0 through to the break.

In the 52nd minute, Sinclair scored her second on a highlight-reel move at the top of the box. Right back Diana Sáenz, covering in the centre, missed her clearance with the ball hitting off her shin pad. Of all players, Saenz’s clearance went to an alone Sinclair who, on two touches, turned and volleyed her left-footed shot perfectly off the inside of the crossbar for a Canada 2-0 lead.

Canada’s next bit of excitement came about five minutes later with the rising teen star Rose taking on four Costa Rica players. She beat a pair outside the box, then another defender inside the box, but was finally stopped by a fourth as she took aim on a third Canadian strike.

In the 68th minute, a nice Sinclair touch nearly put Lawrence through Lawrence alone, but the play was offside with Canada breaking just a moment too early.

In the 73rd minute, a Sáenz attack into the Canadian end led to the Costa Rica penalty, with Sáenz tripping over Desiree Scott who had won the ball with a sliding tackle at the top corner of the box. Raquel Rodríguez took the honours, with the right-footed shot cutting Canada’s lead in half.

In the 78th minute, Canadians held their breath as a Sinclair-Matheson one-two play ended with the ball in the net, but not before the assistant referee raised her flag on the offside play.

Finally in the 86th minute, Canada scored their third of the match after a long kick by goalkeeper McLeod. The ball bounced past a collection of players, springing substitute and birthday girl Nichelle Prince on the run with goalkeeper Diaz tracking back quickly. Prince moved into the box and centered the ball to Rose who, sliding, finished the attack for Canada's 3-1 lead. It was already the third goal of Rose's young career.

The win marked the third consecutive cycle that Canada qualified for the Women's Olympic Football Tournament.

The 19 February 2016 match featured an attendance of 5,516 fans. The double-header ticket concluded with a USA 5:0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, earning USA the second and last CONCACAF spot for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

LINEUPS:

Canada’s starting XI featured Erin McLeod in goal, Josee Bélanger at right back, Kadeisha Buchanan and Shelina Zadorsky at centre back, Allysha Chapman at left back, and Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt, Ashley Lawrence, Diana Matheson, Deanne Rose, and Christine Sinclair from the midfield up through to the attack.

In the second half, coach John Herdman replaced Sinclair and Schmidt with Melissa Tancredi and Nichelle Prince (83’), Rose with Rebecca Quinn (90'+1).

Costa Rica’s starting XI featured Dinnia Diaz in goal, Diana Sáenz at right back, Carol Sánchez and Wendy Acosta at centre back, Lixy Rodríguez at left back, Katherine Alvarado, Cristin Granados, Shirley Cruz, Melissa Herrera, and Maria Barrantes in the midfield, and Raquel Rodríguez at the top. Incidentally, it was the XI that Costa Rica featured against Canada’s U-23 team at the Pan American Games Canada 2015.

In the second half, coach Amelia Valverde replaced Barrantes with Karla Villalobos (61’) and Alvarado with Fabiola Sánchez (90'+1).