The 2023 over-the-hill World Cup

[MrR]

When is too old - too old?

Christine Sinclair (June12, 1983) 40 years old - 0 goals

Megan Rapinoe (July 5, 1985) 38 years old - 0 goals

Marta (February 19, 1986) 37 years old - 0 goals

Alex Morgan (July 2, 1989) 34 years old - 0 goals

Perhaps goalies can still be competitive at a World Cup level when they reach their mid-30s, however, it is blatantly obvious, judging from the collective output of the 4 big-name players listed above, that women of that age no longer have the necessary speed to be productive at this level competing against the young and exciting players that are emerging from professional leagues around the world. We need a professional women's league in Canada for our young girls to develop as players to give them an opportunity to move to higher paying leagues abroad. The days in women's soccer of being able to rely on a talent like Christine Sinclair have passed. If nothing is done, 30 year intervals between Women's World Cup qualifications will become the new reality for the CWNT. The time to act is now. Our girls need at least a 24-game season to develop. Women in Canada must start to support Canadian girls by purchasing tickets to watch them play. Canadian women's soccer cannot rely exclusively on Canadian men buying most of the tickets to watch women's soccer. Instead of taking your daughter to see Barbie (the movie), buy her season tickets to support a women's team.

[rkomar]

The best teams have a mixture of young and old players.  We saw against Ireland how our youths look by themselves, and how much better they were with some experience added to the mix.  It's too simple to judge a team using a calendar.