MELBOURNE, Australia - Australia ended Canada's FIFA Women's World Cup campaign with a lopsided 4-0 win Monday, putting the Olympic champion Canadians to the sword.
It was not pretty, unless you were Australian. The 10th-ranked Matildas needed to win to be sure of moving on to the tournament's knockout round and they wasted little time getting the job done.
It was one-way traffic from the get-go. And rubbing salt in the wound, Steph Catley scored on a stoppage-time penalty after video review confirmed a foul against Canada's Jessie Fleming on the edge of the box.
A draw or win would have moved the seventh-ranked Canadians into the round of 16. But they soon found themselves with a mountain to climb before a partisan crowd announced at 27,706.
And now they go home after three games, finishing third in a tough Group B with a 1-1-1.
It's Canada's worst finish at the Women's World Cup since it went winless in 2011 and finished last. It's likely also the Canadian women's worst game in recent years.