Caitlin Foord and Steph Catley were on the wrong end of a World Cup upset as Australia were defeated by Nigeria in Brisbane.

In first half stoppage time Foord made inroads down the left flank before squaring the ball to van Egmond, who timed her run well to meet the pass and guide the ball past the despairing dive of Nnadozie.

Arsenal left-back Steph Catley captained the Matildas once again, with Sam Kerr missing the first two games with an ankle injury.

After a solid first half, Nigeria looked to have undone their hard work when van Egmond scored, but were able to equalise even deeper into added on time at the end of the first half.

The Super Falcons then shocked Australia and the world by turning the game on its head, thanks to the head of Osinachi Ohale, who was able to turn the ball in after a diving save from Arnold to make it 2-1 to Nigeria. Star striker Asisat Oshoala came off the bench and was able to score a third, curling the ball into the far corner.

Foord should have scored a header in the 95th minute, but her effort from close range was straight at the goalkeeper. With two minutes of added time to go, Manchester City’s Ellie Carpenter headed home a corner to pull a goal back for the Matildas, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a famous comeback win for Nigeria.

A few hours earlier in Wellington, Victoria Pelova set up former Arsenal midfielder Jill Roord to put the Netherlands ahead against reigning champions USA.

After her initial pass was blocked, Pelova slipped the ball back to Roord just inside the penalty area and her finish was an excellent one. Lindsay Horan equalised for the US, who are level with the impressive Dutch at the top of Group E.

Pelova and Foord became the first Arsenal players to register assists at this summer’s World Cup, with McCabe, Ilestedt and Catley all scoring goals.

Victoria Pelova became the first @ArsenalWFC player to pick up an assist in the #FIFAWWC since Beth Mead in the 2019 semi-final, setting up Fran Kirby to equalise for the Lionesses against USA ???

— Freddie Cardy (@CardyFreddie) July 27, 2023