FIFA WWC: Falcons’ victory over Australia turned teams in Group B to calculator carriers

After a wild night in Perth, the Canadian women’s football team returned to its training base in Melbourne on Thursday to prepare for what is now a do-or-die match against Australia at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Hours after landing, seventh-ranked Canada found itself in a Group B logjam thanks to No. 40 Nigeria’s 3-2 upset win over No. 10 Australia in the final game of the day.

With one round of games remaining, it’s all up for grabs in Group B. Olympic champion Canada could finish first or second, booking its ticket to the round of 16, or place third and head home early.

Sweden train in the rain on the eve of facing Italy in group stage game

Thursday’s upset victory moved the Super Falcons over Canada atop the group on superior goals scored, with both teams on four points. The co-host Matildas are third with three points while No. 22 Ireland, with no points, is out of the knockout-round picture in fourth.

In the final group games Monday, it’s Canada versus Australia in Melbourne and Nigeria versus Ireland in Brisbane.

Australia has to beat Canada to move on. The Canadians can advance with a draw or win.

Canada could still move on with a defeat – as long as Nigeria also loses and the final goal difference favours the Canadians.

The team that finishes atop Group B will avoid the winner of Group D, expected to be either No. 4 England or No. 13 Denmark, in the round of 16. The Group B runner-up faces the Group D winner.

But just surviving the opening round is the immediate task at hand.

Canada is coming off a 2-1 comeback win over Ireland on a wet miserable evening Wednesday.

The Canadians played the Matildas twice on Australian soil last September so know what awaits them.

Canada is 8-7-3 all-time against Australia and has won the last three meetings, including last year’s 1-0 and 2-1 victories in Brisbane and Sydney, respectively. The Canadians are 6-2-2 against the Matildas this century.

Despite her team’s recent success against Australia, Priestman warned a tough challenge awaits.

“Australia are a world-class side. And I feel like since we played them [in September] they’ve got better, so we’ve got to be prepared for that,” she said.

Meanwhile, Australia coach Tony Gustavsson has revealed that his team’s inability to recover second balls was the major reason for losing to Nigeria.

“All three goals they[Nigeria] scored were because we lost the second ball. We knew that was going to be massive in this game,” Gustavsson said after the game.

“The second ball was going to be key, and unfortunately, tonight, it cost us three goals.”As it stands, Nigeria only needs

a point from their last game against the Republic of Ireland to qualify for the round of 16.