This was published 6 years ago
Stay tuned on The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age for all the fall-out from the Matildas shock loss to Italy.
Here's Michael Lynch's report from on the ground and keep an eye out for the post-mortem to come. That's it from me for now, goodnight and thankyou.
Yet another mediocre defensive display has cost Australia as the Matildas slump to a shock 2-1 defeat to Italy in their opening match of the 2019 Women's World Cup. In truth, it could have been a lot worse for the Matildas whose blushes were spared by the lines-women and VAR who denied Italy two other goals.
Australia's reliance on a high defensive line was exposed easily by the Italians, raising questions over their tactical approach to the match. However, that they conceded deep into injury time from a set piece suggests the root of their defensive problems may well be deeper. It will be a long five days for Australia who face Brazil on Friday morning (2am AEST) while the Italians are on the cusp of progress to the knock-out stage already.
It was no surprise to see Barbara Bonansea named player of the match, her two goals clinched the win and she would have had a hat-trick had it not been for a trigger-happy official. A great moment for her and for Gli Azzurre.
"It's obviously disappointing to lose and we still have two games so we are definitely not out," Sam Kerr said.
Ante Milicic didn't hide his disappointment at the Matildas' performance after they were humbled 2-1 by Italy.
"I wouldn't say a strong performance, I would say we were decent but not at our best," he said.
"We have to look at both ends of the field. We created enough chances to score a few more but in the end, defensively we gave away too many chances and it's another area we will have to address."
A stunning result in Valenciennes, Italy have caused the first major shock of the World Cup by beating Australia 2-1 with a winner deep into injury time.
Barbara Bonansea scores a dramatic header at the death of the game to seal the deserved win for Gli Azzurre.
Cernoia is standing over a free kick for Italy in what could be the last play of the game. There's not much curl but it drops perfectly at the back post. Lydia Williams is beaten to it and Barbara Bonansea pounces.
She beats Sam Kerr to the ball, powers low into the corner and SCORES!!!
Incredible! Italy have scored in the 95th minute of injury time to stun Australia and clinch a 2-1 lead.
Late chance: Some brilliant defending by Sara Gama is harshly punished by a foul. Emily van Egmond delivers a powerful, inwards curving freekick from out wide that is punched clear by goalkeeper Laura Giuliani amid heavy pressure from Lisa De Vanna.
Ellie Carpenter again creating the most for Australia. Her dangerous low cross comes close to finding Kerr in front of goal, a chance denied by a desperate challenge from Italy's defence.
Well, if it's one thing this high defensive line is good at it's catching Italy with the offside trap. Perhaps resting on the luxury of the VAR, Australia have caught the Italians offside once more with Sabatino breaking free to get a one-on-one with Lydia Williams that's called back.
Score: 1-1