Christine Sinclair scored two goals and set up another by Rhian Wilkinson as Canada overcome some early nerves to beat Jamaica 4-0 at the Gold Cup tournament Wednesday night and clinch a berth in the FIFA women's World Cup of soccer.
``We're going to China,'' Sinclair said after the game. ``That was our goal coming into this tournament and we've done it.''
The win also moves Canada into Sunday's Gold Cup final, which determines the champion of the region that covers North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The United States played Mexico in the other Gold Cup semifinal.
The women's World Cup will be held in China next September.
Melanie Booth of Burlington, Ont., also scored in the 88th minute off a header.
Sinclair's goals came in the 40th and 71st minutes. Wilkinson scored in the 51st minute.
``I think we were nervous to start,'' said Sinclair, who played on a sore hamstring. ``It took us a bit to get adjusted.
``Aside from the first 10 or 15 minutes of the game we dominated. It was 4-0 but it could have been much more. We hit numerous posts and a cross bar.''
Canadian coach Even Pellerud was pleased with the win, but criticized the Jamaican style. The game was delayed several times to tend to Jamaican players who lay crumbled on the pitch.
``It's a delaying tactic,'' said an angry Pellerud. ``The ball is in play maybe one third of the game. The rest is obstruction, cheating, lying down and crying.
``It is so frustrating to play these games. It has nothing to do with soccer. I call it anti-soccer.''
Jamaican coach Vin Blaine reacted angrily to Pellerud's comments.
``I don't care to answer the coach of Canada,'' he said. ``He is a bit rude.
``He got some good calls. He should be satisfied with that. He won 4-0 and he should not be commenting about my team.''
Sinclair, 22, has 66 goals in 87 international games.
Goalkeeper Erin McLeod of Calgary earned the fourth shutout of her career as Canada led 1-0 at the half.
The game started with a handful of fans looking lost in the 27,000-seat Home Depot Center. The stadium was so empty you could hear the players yelling and the Canadians in attendance cheering on their side.
Sinclair scored the game's first goal when Candace Chapman sent a long ball into the box. The Burnaby, B.C., native stopped the ball with her chest, let it drop to the ground, then fired it into the net with a left foot.
A pretty feed by Sinclair set up the second goal.
The Canadian captain took a pass from Brittany Timko at the side of the net, then slid the ball over to a charging Wilkinson, who scored her fifth goal in her 30th international game.
Sinclair, a nominee for FIFA's player of the year, made it 3-0 when she picked up the rebound of a Kristina Kiss shot and beat Jackson.
Sinclair just missed scoring another goal in the opening half. She got in behind the Jamaican defence, then lifted a shot over goalkeeper Paula Jackson's head. The ball hit the cross bar and bounced out.
Jamaica applied some early pressure, forcing McLeod to look sharp, but then Canada took control.
Wilkinson of Baie D'Urfe, Que., and Timko of Coquitlam, B.C., both hit posts. Matheson also fired a high shot that Jackson managed to get a hand on and send over the net.
The Canadian women have a 5-0-0 record against Jamaica and have outscored the Reggae Girlz 35-0.
Canada is currently ranked 10th in the world by FIFA, soccer's world governing body. It's the first time the women have cracked the top 10.
Jamaica, ranked 81st, used a 2-0 win over Panama to reach the semifinal.
The Gold Cup followed a different format this year with Canada and the U.S. both given automatic berths in the semifinals.
Canada has qualified for the last three World Cups with the best result a fourth in 2003.
The U.S. has won the last two Gold Cup championships while Canada beat Mexico 1-0 to win the tournament in 1998.
Canada lost 2-1 to the U.S. in the final of the 2002 competition, and was beaten 2-1 by China in the third-place game in 2000.
NOTES: Canada's 21-0 win over Puerto Rico on Aug. 28, 1998, ranks as the highest scoring game in CONCACAF championship history. ... Former national team player Silvana Burtini scored a record seven goals in that same game.
