Women's World Cup: Australia come alive; Canada knocked out of group of death; Japan give statement win

Another day and four more results at the 2023 Women's World Cup as groups B and C concluded with some impressive performances and big score-lines.

Everything was on the line as Australia and Canada went head to head, knowing that likely only one of them would be able to make it through to the knockouts.

There was also a group decider between Spain and Japan, while Zambia, Costa Rica and Republic of Ireland were all searching for first ever World Cup wins.

Canada 0-4 Australia - Group B

Australia, still without Sam Kerr in the starting lineup for their final group game, needed to come up with something big if they were to avoid joining co-hosts New Zealand as the first host nation to exit a Women's World Cup at the group stage.

Given that they had saved their supposedly hardest game until last against the reigning Olympic champions from Canada, it was no easy feat. Despite a poor 2023 coming into the tournament, this is a Canada team known for being tough to break down and not conceding.

Real Madrid winger Hayley Raso scored twice in a first half in which Australia were relentless in a way they hadn't been in their previous two games. Mary Fowler added a fortuitous third early in the second half that looked as though she had fluffed before it ricocheted in off the far post. Steph Catley rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot after VAR forced a second look on a foul committed by Canada midfielder Jessie Fleming.

For Canada, this is absolutely a disaster, their first group stage exit since 2011. Whether directly related to performances here or not, fingers will be pointed at Canada Soccer and the fact that players were left protesting against their own federation in February just to get equal pay. An equal pay deal was offered the following month, but was the team's preparation harmed overall?

This was also almost certainly the last World Cup game that 40-year-old women's football legend Christine Sinclair will ever play - and not the way she would have wanted to bow out.

Republic of Ireland 0-0 Nigeria - Group B

Both Republic of Ireland and Nigeria probably felt more was on offer from this game.

Ireland at least kept a clean sheet and collected their first ever World Cup point, while Nigeria are through to the knockouts for only the third time. And yet, Ireland, having not conceded might have wished for a goal to win it, while Nigeria missed the chance to top the final group standings.

Courtney Brosnan, who once more faces competition for her starting place at Everton next season following the permanent return of Emily Ramsey, contributed the standout moment of the match with an incredible save that saw her tip Uchenna Kanu's header on to the crossbar.

Attention for Ireland now turns to the future of boss Vera Pauw. No new contract has yet been agreed with the coach, who remains dogged by allegations of her conduct and behaviour towards players during a previous job at Houston Dash. She said in the build-up to the Nigeria game that she and the players deserved clarity over her position with the team beyond this tournament.

Nigeria could well be the team that England face in the last 16, assuming the Lionesses are still top of Group D when it wraps on Tuesday.

READ MORE ON THE WOMEN'S WORLD CUP IN AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Japan 4-0 Spain - Group C

Japan and Spain were the only two countries in the whole World Cup that managed to put together decent performances in both of their first two games. The United States, England, Germany, France, Brazil and Australia did not. So the head to head between them was also going to be super intriguing.

Few expected Japan to do what they did. A lot of people were sleeping on Japan coming into the World Cup, but the class of '23 is showing it has the credentials to match their former golden generation that reached consecutive finals in 2011 and 2015, winning the former.

Hinata Miyazawa got another two goals to take her tally for the tournament so far to four, strengthening her Golden Boot claim. Riko Ueki also netted in the first half to ensure that Spain, still a force even with the controversy surrounding the team and Jorge Vilda, were buried by the interval.

Spain dominated the ball and had more shots overall. But they didn't do enough to create against a Japanese team that were clinical and ruthless with only 23% of possession over 90 minutes.

Japan made five changes from the team that beat Costa Rica in the previous game, highlighting the impressive depth in their squad. For Spain, Vilda named more or less his strongest team, which showed he was targeting the win rather than choosing to rest players.

Costa Rica 1-3 Zambia - Group C

Even though defeats to Japan and Spain had already knocked them out, Zambia ensured they will go home from their debut World Cup appearance with three goals and a win.

The Copper Queens had been tipped to surprise a few teams, having first shown potential at the Olympics in 2021 and then pulling off a shock warm-up win over Germany. It was not to be, but the likes of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji have further cemented their reputations.

Centre-back Lushomo Mweemba broke the deadlock from a corner after a couple of minutes. Banda doubled the lead from the penalty spot with half an hour gone - coincidentally also the 1,000th goal in the 32-year history of the Women's World Cup, while Kundananji got the third in stoppage time.

There was certainly an element of fortune in Banda's goal as it really didn't look like a foul.

Costa Rica had only qualified once for the World Cup before 2023, previously finishing bottom of their group in 2015, and were still chasing a first ever win of their own in the competition. That wait will go on, but they they will hope to be back on the global stage again in 2027.

WATCH THE LATEST WORLD CUP EDITION OF 90MIN TALKS

Shebahn Aherne is joined by Girls on the Ball, Lizzy Becherano and 90min BR's Maria Victoria Poli to analyse the second games of the group stage. They discuss how Sarina Weigman will need to rethink the Lionesses' tactics after KeIra Walsh's knee injury and look ahead at the final round's fixtures of the group stage.

If you can't see the embed, click here to watch the full show.