The Matildas have slumped to a disastrous 3-2 loss to Nigeria and will likely have to beat Canada to avoid a group stage exit at their home Women's World Cup.
In front of a raucous crowd in Brisbane, the Matildas let a first-half lead slip to Nigeria, who are one win away from qualifying for the Round of 16.
The Matildas took the lead in stoppage time of the first half when Emily van Egmond, who replaced the concussed Mary Fowler, scored after relentless pressure.
But Nigeria took the wind out of Australia's sails five minutes later when Uchenna Kanu equalised against the run of play.
In the second half, Australia's attack failed to capitalise on chances while their defence completely fell apart in front of 49,156 fans.
Osinachi Ohale toe-poked Nigeria ahead in the 65th minute, injuring herself in the process.
Rasheedat Ajibade headed the ball across the face and Ohale bundled it home, taking an accidental kick to the mid-section while scoring.
Seven minutes later, under pressure from Asisat Oshoala, Alanna Kennedy attempted to head a Nigeria long ball back to goalkeeper MacKenzie Arnold but instead knocked it into the path of striker Oshoala to complete the Matildas' undoing.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson didn't make any attacking changes until bringing on Alex Chidiac in the 85th minute.
Eventually they found the net, with Kennedy heading home from a corner 10 minutes into added time.
Ellie Carpenter then had a shot to secure a miracle draw saved in the final moments as the Africans hung on.
Australia sits third in Group B on three points, behind Nigeria and Canada on four points.
It means a draw against the Olympic champions Canada in Melbourne on Monday will likely not be enough to reach the Round of 16.
Van Egmond mulled the Matildas' missed chances during her post-match interview.
"Unfortunately the results didn't go our way. We had so many chances, but it was one of those nights we couldn't get the ball in the back of the net," she said.
"I think we had most possession, we looked to control the games in areas and I would love to see what the percentage of our ball retention in the opposition's final third [was]," she said.
"At the end of the day it's about putting the ball in the back of the net. Unfortunately, we were short tonight."
Van Egmond said the Matildas will take positives out of the match, especially the final minutes when they clawed the deficit to one goal.
United States captain Lindsey Horan rescued a draw for her country after a tight and tense Women's World Cup battle with the Netherlands.
Horan's header cancelled out Jill Roord's stunning first-half opener in Thursday's battle of the 2019 World Cup finalists in Wellington.
On a blustery and bitterly cold day in the New Zealand capital, the meeting of the two heavyweights lived up to the heat of expectation.
The well-taken Dutch goal was the first time the USA had fallen behind in a Women's World Cup match since 2011, when Sweden inflicted their one and only group-stage loss.
There was to be no repeat of that result in Wellington, with Horan leading from the front for the defending champions.
The draw means Group E is likely to be decided on goal difference, with the Netherlands and US — tied at the top on four points each — looking to use their firepower in their final group clashes against underdogs Vietnam and Portugal respectively on Tuesday.
The draw also ended the United States' run of 13 straight wins at the tournament, though coach Vlatko Andonovski took heart from his team's ability to rally.
Portugal have scored their first goals and win in Women's World Cup finals football with a 2-0 victory over fellow tournament debutants Vietnam in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Ranked 21st in the world — 11 places above Vietnam — Portugal completely dominated, but wasteful finishing and heroic goalkeeping from Kim Thanh Tran kept the margin down.
Goals to Telma Encarnacao and Kika Nazareth in the seventh and 20th minutes respectively gave Portugal control.
They had 27 shots to five but only five on target.
The win lifted Portugal to three points, one behind Group E pacesetters, the United States and the Netherlands.
Portugal face the daunting task of beating defending champions the US in Auckland on Monday in the final round of group E to advance into the last 16.
Vietnam, who did not have a single shot In their first-game loss to the US, had an early sight of goal inside the first two minutes and a couple of attempts late in the half, but otherwise rarely looked like scoring their first World Cup finals goal.
Vietnam finish their campaign against the Netherlands in Dunedin next Tuesday.
AAP/ABC
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What a night of football.
What looked like it was going to be a celebration turned into a night of tension.
Nigeria were excellent and Australia need to quickly shift their focus to Canada.
We will be back again tomorrow for another day of World Cup action.
Goodnight
Are Australia knocked out if we don’t win tonight?
- Can’t remember
No not yet.
They are 1 point behind Canada (who they face on Monday) and Nigeria (who plays Ireland at the same time).
If Australia defeats Canada, they are in. If they lose, they are out.
If they draw, then they need Ireland to defeat Nigeria by two goals.
Nigeria deserved their win. Australia lacked discipline with too many big boots to front to no-one in particular and often straight to the keeper
- Tony
Australia's first goal scorer Emily van Egmond was trying to remain positive, after the disappointing loss to Nigeria.
"Tonight wasn't our night. I think we had most possession, we looked to control the games in areas and I would love to see what the percentage of our ball retention in the opposition's final third," she said.
"At the end of the day it's about putting the ball in the back of the net. Unfortunately, we were short tonight."
What a disaster.
The Matildas look devastated. They know they've blown an important moment; a moment in which they could have secured a play-off spot without having to go too hard at Canada on Monday, but now they've painted themselves into a corner.
Nigeria, for their part, executed their game-plan perfectly. They suffocated Australia's most creative players through the middle and repeatedly found openings out wide. But most of all, they rattled the Matildas: forced them to make errors and panic.
It's been a rattled kind of week for Australia. The loss of Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik two days ago, adding to an injury list that already includes their captain Sam Kerr, has not helped. Media scrutiny and the pressure of this tournament seems to be piling on top of them.
But they need to hold firm. They're not out of it yet. They know what they have to do in Melbourne early next week, and their recent experiences against Canada suggests they'll know a little bit more about how to do it.
They have their motto — "Never Say Die" — for a reason. Let's see how much that holds true.
It is the first time Nigeria has ever come from behind to win a World Cup match.
They were brilliant in their draw against Canada.
Tonight, they were simply outstanding.
A win over Ireland in their final group game will guarantee qualification to the Round of 16.
What a win.
A famous win for Nigeria.
They deserve everything they got tonight.
They were outstanding.
The Matildas go on the attack.
Carpenter shoots, but Nigeria's keeper saves again.
Alanna Kennedy leaps over the top of the pack from a corner and heads it into the net.
3-2 with two minutes remaining.
Caitlin Foord was going to score for all money.
She had a header just six-metres away from goal, with only the keeper to beat.
Not much of an angle, so she fires the header, and it's going over the head of Nigeria's keeper Chiamaka Nnadozie.
But Nnadozie plucks this out of the air like she is fielding at first slip.
Another good chance for Alex Chidiac inside the penalty area.
But again she does not make Nigeria's goalkeeper work.
That will feel like an hour for Nigeria.
This game had a weird feeling about it from the very beginning, and it's gotten even weirder in the second half.
The mix-up between Kennedy and Arnold at the back for Nigeria's third was a good illustration of how this game overall has felt to me: confused, slightly panicked, and with a really concerning lack of communication and understanding.
Tony Gustavsson needs to answer some questions here, too: when 3-1 down, he throws on Clare Polkinghorne and sends centre-back Alanna Kennedy up front.
Is he playing 4D chess with us all, or is this a man out of ideas? We've got a few minutes left to find out.
Alex Chidiac was on the pitch for a matter of seconds before firing at goal.
It was a low shot, saved comfortably by Chiamaka Nnadozie.
Australia needs two goals, and they need them very quickly.
Nigeria has been rock-solid in defence in this second half.
They will not be hurrying in these last few minutes.
So close.
Australia are getting chances, but they cannot hit the target.
This time Caitlin Foord fires and it just goes over the top.
The chances are coming, but time is running out.
Corner to the Matildas.
Alanna Kennedy leaps above the pack … and it just goes over the bar.
Noooooooooooo!!!
- Gobsmacked
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