The Matildas have fallen to a dramatic 3-2 defeat against Nigeria in Brisbane, reframing their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign from one that appeared to be in cruise control to a suddenly perilous endeavour sitting on the edge of the knife.
After having the best of the game without too many clear opportunities from open play to show for it, the Matildas took the lead at Lang Park just before the halftime break through Emily van Egmond, who started for the concussed Mary Fowler, after she finished off a rapid move in transition from Katrina Gorry and Caitlin Foord. Thoughts of halftime advantage, though, were dashed when the Super Falcons got forward on the counter themselves and restored the game to equilibrium through Uchenna Kanu.
Finding their stride, Randy Waldrum’s side then seized the lead in the 65th minute when Osinachi Ohale was on the scene to capitalise on the chaos of a corner to bundle the ball into the net before Asisat Oshoala — forced to come off the bench after sustaining a knock against Canada — drove a dagger through Australia’s hearts when she capitalised on a defensive lapse to steal through and finish into an open goal from a tight angle.
Alanna Kennedy pulled one back for a desperate Australia in the tenth minute of added time, but the host nation’s frantic attempts to get back into the game came to naught.
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Rapid reaction
1. Control without landing a killing blow
For much of the opening stanza, lifted by a vocally partisan home crowd, the Matildas were the proactive side. Controlling possession and territory, Nigeria was at times struggling to get out of their half — albeit when they did break on the counter, they demonstrated more threat, especially in left-flank overloads, than Ireland did — and the host nation’s accumulation of pressure felt like it was mounting.
But at the same time, with Nigeria mostly playing in a mid- to low-block, most of Australia’s often rushed forays forward were able to be diverted to the channels by the defence before a shot could be created, leaving the Matildas’ most frequent avenue towards goal the corner. Particularly keying in on the second phases of these set pieces, this admittedly did lead to several threatening looks but ultimately failed to find a breakthrough.
Instead, it was ultimately a ruthlessly efficient moment in transition that delivered the breakthrough; Katrina Gorry pounced on a poorly taken goal kick from Chiamaka Nnadozie and knocking the ball down superbly for Caitlin Foord, who promptly drove forward and slid the ball across for van Egmond to finish. After doing so well to maintain their defensive shape throughout the contest to that point, it was just one piece of broken play that put them out of position and the only one that the Matildas needed.
