The defeat meant that the Olympic champions, Canada, were eliminated from the tournament at the group stage, which was the first time it happened to them since 2011.
Hayley Raso was the star of the match, scoring two goals in the first half. Her first goal came in the ninth minute with a well-placed shot from her right boot. She followed it up with another goal in the 39th minute from a goal-mouth scramble, much to the delight of the fans, including captain Sam Kerr, who was on the sidelines.
After the break, Mary Fowler added to Australia’s lead with a deft touch that hit the right post before going into the net in the 58th minute. The victory was sealed with a penalty by Steph Catley in stoppage time, bringing joy and relief to the co-host nation as they celebrated their progression to the next round.
Canada, needing only a draw to advance, couldn’t find their footing in the match and struggled to cope with Australia’s courageous performance. Their talismanic captain, Christine Sinclair, started the game but was substituted at halftime along with several other players as coach Bev Priestman made changes to try and salvage the match.
With this convincing win, Australia topped Group B with six points, one ahead of Nigeria, who also advanced to the last 16 after drawing 0-0 against Ireland.
Australia’s impressive performance in the group stage means that their captain, Kerr, who had been nursing an injured calf, can now rest and recover before their next match in the last 16, which is likely to be against Denmark.
Home fans were roaring again in the 34th minute as Fowler charged in to thump the ball in from close range, with Raso providing the cross.
VAR again intervened, this time cancelling the goal for offside, triggering a huge round of booing.
It scarcely mattered as five minutes later, Raso was celebrating her second strike after Sheridan failed to clear the ball from a set-piece.
Priestman made changes at halftime, with the retiring Sophie Schmidt coming on and blazing over the bar in the 56th minute.
But another Australian raid minutes later ended with Fowler slotting in a cross from Caitlin Foord to blow out the lead.
Worse was to come for Canada as Jessie Fleming clattered into Katrina Gorry just inside the area to concede a penalty, allowing Catley to blast into the net for the coup de grace.
(With Reuters inputs)
