Just two years after the highs of its shocking run to Olympic gold, the Canada women’s national team suffered its biggest disappointment in recent memory by dropping out of the group stage at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Canada entered the day in control of its World Cup destiny, needing just a draw from its final group stage match to advance to the knockouts. Instead, the Tokyo Olympic champions left the tournament after a devastating 4–0 rout at the hands of co-host Australia, marking the first time that a reigning Olympic gold-medal team has been knocked out at the group stage of a Women’s World Cup.
The result, combined with a scoreless draw between Nigeria and Ireland, sends Australia into the knockout stage as the Group B winner while Nigeria finishes second, sending Canada home on four points after a win against Ireland and a draw with Nigeria.
