Nigeria scores, Canada flies
Australia passes tricky World Cup test furiously
7/31/2023 2:03 p.m
Australia breathes a sigh of relief: The soccer team from the World Cup hosts beat Canada in the group final and stormed furiously into the round of 16. Hayley Raso becomes the match winner with her two goals. The Canadians, on the other hand, disappoint across the board.
Australia’s footballers can keep dreaming of the title at their home World Cup. The Matildas won the tricky Group B final against Olympic champions Canada 4-0 (2-0) and advanced to the round of 16 with six points. Due to Nigeria’s draw in the parallel game, the Canadians were surprisingly eliminated in the preliminary round for the first time since 2011.
Nigeria, meanwhile, have reached the knockout stages of the World Cup for the third time. A 0-0 draw against Ireland in Brisbane was enough for the Super Falcons to advance to the round of 16 like in 2019. In 1999 Nigeria was even in the last eight, which at that time followed directly after the preliminary round.
The Australians now meet the second in Group D on Monday, possible opponents are Denmark or China. Hayley Raso (9th/39th), Mary Fowler (58th) and captain Steph Catley (90th + 4, penalty kick according to video evidence) made the hosts in Melbourne celebrate. Canada around veteran star Christine Sinclair tried to control the game throughout, but didn’t develop any penetrating power.
Australia, under pressure to win, started extremely powerful. Raso put a low shot perfectly into the far corner at the first chance, a short time later she was denied by Kailen Sheridan (13th). From then on, the Matildas let the Canadians take control and waited for quick counterattacks. The 2-0 then brought a standard, Raso dusted off a corner.
After the change, the hosts remained very compact and kept attacking with pinpricks, such as Kyra Cooney-Cross’ long-range shot (53′). After a perfect cross pass from Caitlin Foord, Fowler only had to push in, later she hit the post (80th).