LIVE: The Matildas face Olympic gold medallists Canada on Saturday afternoon in a crucial test of their World Cup preparations.
But after a period of early dominance, the Matildas were stunned when new Manchester United signing Adriana Leon picked up the ball outside the area and drove the ball into the top corner in the 12th minute.
Sam Kerr missed a one-on-one opportunity, before the Matildas’ injury crisis worsened as veteran defender Alanna Kennedy went off the park with an apparent groin injury.
A raft of injuries has left the Matildas under strength for this pair of matches against the North American heavyweights. Vice-captain Steph Catley, Mackenzie Arnold, Tameka Yallop, and Caitlin Foord were all ruled out of Saturday’s clash.
Hayley Raso withdrew from the camp at the last minute, while Kyah Simon, Ellie Carpenter, and Chloe Logarzo are each recovering from long-term injuries.
Coach Tony Gustavsson said it would lead to a “different type of game and different type of approach than we thought coming into this camp”.
“But we love challenges,” the Swedish mentor said.
“If we adapt to change, we can look at it as a chance for us to see the investment of the depth in the roster that we’ve been doing for a year and a half.
“This is a great opportunity to test that depth of the roster.”
The teams again meet on Tuesday at the new Allianz Stadium, the first football match at the new venue.
Matildas v Canada
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Saturday, 2:45pm (AEST)
MATCH CENTRE: Live stats, score, video
LIVE BLOG
Follow the action in our live blog below. If you can’t see the blog, click here.
