The CommBank ParaMatildas have beaten the USA for the first time in their history with an exhilarating 3-1 victory in the IFCPF Women’s World Cup 2024 Group Stage.
The excitement was clear to see as the Australians subjected the USA side to their first-ever World Cup defeat and claimed some revenge for the 2022 World Cup Final while securing an important victory on their journey towards winning a first World Cup.
Spain delivered a perfect day for football as the sun shone down on the fields at Fubol Salou for the highly anticipated bout between the two fierce rivals.
The match began with an early USA goal but the Australian’s didn’t drop their heads and started to build pressure.
In the 10th minute the pressure finally boiled over when crisp passing from the CommBank ParaMatildas stretched the US defence for an unmarked Tahlia Blanshard to slot the ball home and level the scores.
With the scores locked the match fell into an arm wrestle as both sides jostled for possession and desperately looked for the match-breaker.
Fortunately for the Australians, the match-breaker came in the form of a powerful Georgia Beikoff long-range strike which sailed into the top corner shocking the American goalkeeper.
With CommBank ParaMatildas’ Head Coach Kelly Stirton’s side boasting a slim but commanding 2-1 lead, Stirton looked to her bench to start the second half after Beikoff succumbed to a hand injury and was replaced by the versatile Carly Salmon.
The physical contact and intensity suggested the match had risen to another level in the second period as the USA began to push back against the ever-pressing Australian attack.
Seemingly out of nowhere as the fulltime siren approached, Eloise Northam got Australia’s third for the day after pounding the ball into the bottom corner of the net from long-range, sparking a scene of jubilation from the Australian bench.
As the minutes ticked away the big hits continued as deficit was quickly becoming too big for the American side to chase down with the time remaining.
The referee’s final whistle sparked wild celebrations from the CommBank ParaMatildas as they enjoyed a historic victory over the USA.
The CommBank ParaMatildas will return to the field on Sunday 17 November when they face Ireland at 2.15pm CET (1.15am, Monday 18 November) in their second last match of the World Cup group stage.
Match Summary
Australia: 2 (3. Tahlia Blanshard 10’, 10. Georgia Beikoff 21’, 7. Eloise Northam 33’)
USA: 1 (6. Isabella Stankunas 6’)
Australia: 6. Katelyn Smith (C), 3. Tahlia Blanshard (4. Rebecca Jones 37’), 7. Eloise Northam, 8. Annmarie De Uriate, 10. Georgia Beikoff (1. Carly Salmon (C) 25’, 2. Trinity McPhie 50+4’)
Substitutes not used: 5. Lainee Harrison, 9. Rae Anderson
USA: 9. Leah Glaser (1. Rebecca Ostrander 42’), 4. Michelle Cross (2. Cassidy Leake 25’), 7. Catrina Guimaraes (3. Annie Wickett 42’), 10. Jesslyn Kuhnel (5. Joey Martin 42’), 6. Isabella Stankunas (8. Kaia Spencer 25’)
Substitutes not used:
