July 27 – Nigeria came from behind to stun co-hosts Australia 3-2 on Thursday and leave the Matildas fighting for their lives to qualify for the last 16 of the Women’s World Cup.
Barcelona forward Asisat Oshoala came on as a second-half substitute and inspired Nigeria to a famous upset, swooping on a defensive error after 72 minutes to score her country’s third goal and peeling away in celebration.
Before that, Uchenna Kanu cancelled out Emily van Egmond’s opener on the stroke of halftime and Osinachi Ohale nudged Nigeria ahead just after the break.
The win moved Nigeria into a share of first place in Group B with Olympic champions Canada, both with four points, and means Australia must beat the Canadians in their final group game to guarantee a knockout place.
Struggling with injuries in attack with striker Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler both missing the game in Brisbane, Australia had 28 efforts on goal and eight on target but couldn’t put away enough chances.
They managed to pull a goal back with two minutes of stoppage time remaining but couldn’t fashion an equalizer and are now in serious danger of being eliminated from the competition.
Nigeria, meantime, can start to dream of a last-16 place. The 11-time African champions play already eliminated Ireland in the other final group match on Monday.
“This was a massive opportunity that we let slide,” Steph Catley, who is leading the Matildas in the absence of Kerr, said afterwards. “We created a lot of opportunities that we couldn’t finish. We weren’t patient enough, and we weren’t clinical.
“(Nigeria) was great on the counter and they finished their chances. We’ve just got to move on as quickly as possible – on to Canada now. This is what World Cups are all about.”
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