Australia knocks Olympic champion out of Women's World Cup 2023

* Scores: Raso 9' & 39', Fowler 58', Catley pen 90'+4

Before the match at Melbourne Stadium, Australia faced the risk of being eliminated and had to defeat strong opponents Canada - the reigning Olympic champion - to decide its own fate. There have been many concerns for Australia, because a day ago, New Zealand received a sad milestone when becoming the first home team to be eliminated from the group stage in the history of the Women's World Cup.

Pressure surrounded, but teacher and coach Tony Gustavsson played well with reasonable competition. They actively gave up the game to Canada, accepting to retreat to the defense to play counterattack and the result came right after 9 minutes. Steph Catley stretched from the left to Hayley Raso to control and then shot diagonally to open the scoring.

In the 34th minute, still from a counterattack, the Canadian goal wobbled and Mary Fowler quickly hit the net. But VAR determined Ellie Carpenter was offside and denied the goal for Australia. However, the co-hosts did not have to regret it for long because just five minutes later, goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan misjudged the point from the corner and created an opportunity for Raso to double the lead.

In the second half, Canada replaced four players to refresh the attack, but when these adjustments worked, they continued to concede. In the 58th minute, Canada's offside trap collapsed at the wrong time, allowing Caitlin Foord to escape to the bottom of the boundary and then stretch it across for Mary Fowler to kick into an empty net.

The difference in the score is too large and the game lacks mutations that make Canada stuck in attack. They finished a number of times but were not enough to make it difficult for goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold. In the fourth minute of compensation, Australia was awarded a penalty after the referee consulted the VAR. On the 11m mark, Steph Catley decisively scored a 4-0 victory, closing a great match for the home team and a nightmare for Canada.

In the match at the same time, Nigeria drew the Republic of Ireland 0-0 and the result was just enough for the African representative to take the second place in Group B with five points, while Australia won the first place with one point more. Canada was eliminated in third place with four points.