Holding just 36% possession throughout the 102 minutes of play Nigeria become the first African nation to win at the 2023 WWC which has led the co-host nation- Australia- to need a win against defending Olympic champions Canada.
Thursday 27th July 2023
This tense and somewhat surprising game was opened up when Australia scored first in the first minute of extra time in the opening half, which saw Emily van Egmond convert Caitlin Foord's pass into the Matilda's second goal of the tournament.
However, the home team didn't have long to feel the impact of the goal when Nigeria equalised five minutes later with Uchenna Kanu's calm finish, making it 1-1 at halftime.
In the sixty-fifth minute, Osinachi Ohale's (voted player of the match) header made it 2-1 and after a mix-up between Alanna Kennedy and Mackenzie Arnold, in the Australian defence, Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona striker) scored. Oshola has now level with Rita Nwadike and Nkiru Okosieme as the country's leading goal scorer and has scored in her third WWC in succession.
The Matildas' defender Kennedy was able to head in a corner in the 10th minute of the 11 additional minutes at the end of the second half as a large part of the crowd of 49,156 at the Brisbane Stadium cheered them on. However, the home side did not have enough time to reach an equaliser as the narrow lead Nigeria held was clung on to.
Australia, who are ranked 10th in the world, needed this win to secure their place in the knockout stages but after the defensive troubles they had during the 102 minutes they were forced to try to gain the one point with a team ranked 30 places below them.
Presenter and former England Lioness captain, Steph Houghton, said "For Nigeria to put on that performance and stifle Australia was fantastic. They deserved to win the game, 2-3... amazing." as Nigeria go top of group B.
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