Matildas v Canada report card: Huge hidden win for Australia in rousing 4-0 World Cup victory

Here is how they performed across the field.

GOALKEEPER: B+

Mackenzie Arnold had two phenomenal saves to deny Deanne Rose on the ground and Evelyne Viens’ long-range strike at the top-right corner. She was otherwise – surprisingly – unchallenged in goal, with Canada producing just three shots on target for the match.

Arnold picked up a yellow card for time wasting, which she’s unlikely to lose any sleep over. There were also a couple of moments of miscommunication which saw Australia concede two unnecessary corners, but Arnold’s confidence is one of the most important takeaways for the match.

It’s a significant win after being rattled in goals against Nigeria and one she’ll hope to continue against increasingly difficult opposition as the Matildas push into the knockout stages.

DEFENDERS: A

Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley were allowed to do their thing for the first time through this World Cup, running absolute amok on the flanks, with Catley picking up a goal and an assist in the process.

Clare Hunt has solidified herself as Australia’s top-choice central defender, doing little wrong when faced with the class of Canada’s Jesse Flemming at the head of their midfield.

Her maturity and level-headedness has brought so much to Australia’s backline and her pairing with Alanna Kennedy proved again, as it did against France, that it can contest against some of the world’s best strikers.

MIDFIELDERS: A-

It wasn’t Katrina Gorry’s best performance of the tournament, with her passing efficiency down from the first two matches, but that allowed Kyra Cooney-Cross to shine. The Victorian stood up in front of her home crowd, setting loose Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord on the wings and generating plenty of energy in the midfield against one of the game’s classiest centre-field players in Flemming.

Raso and Foord played dual roles out of the midfield and were striking, with Foord finally allowed to stretch her legs on her preferred left flank. Raso’s brace was hard-earned, given her incredible form coming into the tournament and her workrate in pulling back in defence to allow Carpenter’s forays forward.

Australia didn’t have a lot of the ball in the centre third, at just 38 per cent possession, but they made far better use of it than in the previous two matches.

ATTACKERS: B

Mary Fowler performed the job of a No.9 well when in the box, cleaning up the scraps and picking up a goal (and almost two) in the process. Outside of it, though, she looked a little unsure of her position, with so much of the game played down the flanks.

Alongside her, Emily van Egmond struggled to keep pace with her teammates and continued her trend of looking backwards to go forwards, often losing the ball under the tight pressure of Canada’s hungry backline.

Van Egmond’s lacklustre performance will likely increase calls from outside of the Matildas’ camp for Alex Chidiac to be injected into the round of 16 line-up, should Kerr remain on the bench.

BENCH: B

Tony Gustavsson was the most under-pressure member of the Australian camp coming into the Canada match, following immense scrutiny for his bench tactics against Nigeria. Against Les Rouges, he was hard to fault. Charli Grant gained a World Cup debut, Cortnee Vine added some electricity, with her pace on full show for the first time this tournament, and Clare Polkinghorne was dependable in defence.

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While most of the 27,706 would have loved to see Melbourne Victory favourite Chidiac take the field in place of van Egmond, Gustavsson’s timing and choices were hard to fault.

Yes, Katrina Gorry could have been switched with Clare Wheeler and Carpenter or Catley’s legs may have savoured some additional minutes of rest, but the biggest win: he put up 14 players to beat the reigning Olympic champion 4-0.

All with the best female striker in the world on his bench.