Australia ended Canada’s FIFA Ladies’s World Cup marketing campaign with a lopsided 4-0 win Monday, placing the Olympic champion Canadians to the sword.
It was not fairly, except you have been Australian. The Tenth-ranked Matildas wanted to win to make sure of transferring on to the event’s knockout spherical and so they wasted little time getting the job accomplished.
Watch Soccer North Stay Monday July 31 at 8:30 a.m. ET on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports activities YouTube Channel for post-match evaluation of Canada vs. Eire with Andi Petrillo and Diana Matheson.
It was one-way visitors from the get-go. And rubbing salt within the wound, Steph Catley scored on a stoppage-time penalty after video evaluation confirmed a foul towards Canada’s Jessie Fleming on the sting of the field.
A draw or win would have moved the seventh-ranked Canadians into the spherical of 16. However they quickly discovered themselves with a mountain to climb earlier than a partisan crowd introduced at 27,706.
And now they go dwelling after three video games, ending third in a troublesome Group B with a 1-1-1.
It’s Canada’s worst end on the Ladies’s World Cup because it went winless in 2011 and completed final. It’s probably additionally the Canadian ladies’s worst sport lately.
And it’s one other physique blow for Canada Soccer in a 12 months blighted by a bitter labour dispute.
Hayley Raso scored twice for the event co-hosts as Canada’s vaunted defence was carved open within the first half. It might have been 3-0 on the break however a 3rd Australian aim was dominated offside.
Canadians didn’t put a shot heading in the right direction in a primary half wherein they regarded rattled.
It quickly received worse as Mary Fowler made it 3-0 within the 58th minute.
Talismanic Canadian captain Christine Sinclair, who got here off the bench in final Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Eire, returned to the beginning lineup however solely lasted a half. One wonders if it’s the final sport for the 40-year-old icon, the world’s all-time main scorer.
The Canadians knew a loss won’t finish their marketing campaign, offering No. 40 Nigeria was crushed by No. 22 Eire and the tiebreakers have been of their favour.
Nigeria and Eire performed to a 0-0 draw, snuffing out that state of affairs.
Australia (2-1-0) wins the group with Nigeria (1-0-2) additionally advancing. Eire (0-2-1) finishes fourth.
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, higher often called AAMI Park, was decked in Australian colors — with its green-coloured seats full of followers sporting gold. It was onerous to see purple, though there have been pockets of Canadian help.
FFA president Gianni Infantino was additionally in the home.
The group didn’t have lengthy to attend for one thing to cheer about. A rapid-fire Australian assault produced a ninth-minute Raso aim that was initially dominated offside however was given the inexperienced mild after video evaluation.
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold began the transfer with a sweeping cross that discovered Catlin Foord close to midfield, She rapidly despatched the ball ahead to Catley, whose ensuing cross handcuffed Vanessa Gilles and the Canadian defence. The ball discovered its manner by way of a number of our bodies to Raso, who beat goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan with a low shot.
Fullback Jayde Riviere and Kadeisha Buchanan have been unable to corral the Australian surge down the flank.
Raso, who’s leaving Manchester Metropolis for Actual Madrid, virtually made it 2-0 4 minutes later however a diving Sheridan made an outstanding one-handed save to parry the ball away.
The Matildas appeared to make it 2-0 within the thirty fourth minute with Fowler hammering the ball into the aim after the Canadians didn’t clear their traces. Australian gamers have been actually queuing as much as take the shot whereas Buchanan was down injured on the play.
Video evaluation negated the aim, nonetheless, with Ellie Carpenter dominated to be offside.
Australia scored once more within the thirty ninth minute off a Kyra Cooney-Cross nook as Canada’s defence was once more discovered wanting. Sheridan’s tried punch went for naught and the ball bounced off Canada’s Quinn, who goes by one title, to Raso who poked it in from point-blank vary.
This time it counted. And the Canadians regarded shell-shocked, not for the primary time at this event.
Coach Bev Priestman despatched on Allysha Chapman, Sophie Schmidt, Cloe Lacasse and Deanne Rose to open the second half, taking off Riviere, Julia Grosso, Sinclair and Jordyn Huitema.
Nevertheless it was extra of the identical, with Australia quickly including a 3rd aim.
An extended ball discovered Foord racing down the left flank and Fowler, regardless of the presence of six Canadian defenders within the penalty field, flicked her cross off the put up into the aim.
Canada’s Adriana Leon got here off within the second half for a concussion verify.
Rose examined Arnold within the 66th minute — Canada’s first shot heading in the right direction — however the Australian ‘keeper was as much as the duty. Within the 76, Schmidt fired a shot excessive.
Olivia Smith, simply 19, got here on within the 77th minute for her third cap. Two minutes later, Australia got here shut once more as Fowler’s shot hit the put up.
The Matildas have been seeking to keep away from following New Zealand, which on Sunday turned the first-ever Ladies’s World Cup host workforce to not survive the primary spherical.
Australia coach Tony Gustavsson known as the sport a “crossroads second.”
A lot of the pre-game discuss targeted on the well being of Australian star ahead Sam Kerr, who missed the primary two matches with a calf harm. Kerr, Australia’s all-time main scorer with 63 objectives in 120 appearances previous to Monday, began on the bench however wasn’t wanted.
The Canadian question-marks have been Sinclair and Buchanan.
Sinclair limped off the sector in final Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Eire after an impactful 45 minutes instead. Buchanan, coping with sickness, exited late within the first half of the Irish sport.
Each have been within the Canadian beginning 11 Monday with Evelyne Viens shifting to the bench to make room for Sinclair, who was making her 326th look. The Canadian starters went into the sport with a mixed cap depend of 1,103.
Australia now faces the Group D runner-up whereas Nigeria takes on the Group D winner within the spherical of 16, with each video games set for Aug. 7.
No. 4 England (2-0-0) at the moment tops Group D with No. 13 Denmark (1-1-0) second, forward of No. 14 China (1-1-0) on a tiebreaker. The ultimate positions in Group D will likely be determined Tuesday when England takes on China in Adelaide and winless Haiti faces Denmark in Perth.
Canada’s finest end on the event was fourth in 2003. 4 years in the past in France, the Canada exited in a 1-0 loss to Sweden within the spherical of 16.