The Matildas have fallen to a 1-0 defeat to Olympic champions Canada at Lang Park.
A spectacular first-half Adriana Leon goal was all that separated the two sides in front of 25,016 supporters.
The Matildas were bright in patches, moving the ball crisply and creating a host of good chances, but they failed to convert them.
An inexperienced Canadian defence was largely able to repel the Matildas and, when they were beaten, an excellent display of goalkeeping from Kailen Sheridan did the rest.
Things had started promisingly for the Matildas, to the delight of the parochial home crowd.
After being on the back foot through the opening exchanges, Canada opened the scoring with its first chance in the 12th minute.
Leon rifled in a shot from outside the area that nestled in the top corner after the Matildas failed to clear a free kick.
As good as the shot was, having flown past a diving Lydia Williams, the Matildas would have hoped to do better with their defence.
Only Kyra Cooney-Cross seemed alert to the possibility of a long-range shot, with the rest of the team camped on the edge of the area defending the cross.
As far as the Matildas were concerned, it was a case of missed opportunities from start to finish, with acrobatic stops from Sam Kerr headers book-ending the contest.
"Sitting here with the stats, you look at 25 to 21 box entries, 16 shots to 13 to us, seven on target to five for them. This should have been a game that ended 3-3," head coach Tony Gustavsson said afterwards.
"It's a bit unbelievable that it ends 1-0 to Canada, to be honest.
"A game like this is most likely going to be decided on conversation rate in goal zones. We had a lot of focus [in training] on finding the final pass and finishing.
"It's just one of those days. Sometimes, in another game, we score three and we win the game. We've seen it before, over and over again. Not just for us, but in the game of football. But it's definitely something we need to work on."
Kerr missed four chances in a frustrating first half, the best of which came after she was played in one-on-one with Sheridan by a perfect slide-rule pass from Katrina Gorry.
Kerr, had enough time to take a touch in an attempt to take it round Sheridan, but the Canadian keeper did well to make a tackle with her feet and Emily Gielnik scooped the rebound over the bar.
The Chelsea striker was also denied on three other occasions by Sheridan, with the best save coming from a superb flick-on header in the opening minutes.
Emily van Egmond also saw a free header in the centre of the penalty area comfortably saved by the Canadian stopper.
In a far more even second half, the Matildas were again guilty of squandering their opportunities, with Gielnik finding the side netting after a gorgeous flowing move and Cooney-Cross forcing a comfortable save from distance.
Canada created a couple of chances too, with Williams on hand to make an important save from Christine Sinclair, while relying on some wayward shooting from Canada's impressive winger Nichelle Prince.
Substitute striker Clarissa Larisey had a chance to put the result out of doubt after pouncing on a wayward pass out of defence, but Williams saved well.
The Matildas lost defender Alanna Kennedy in the first half through injury and were lucky to see Courtney Nevin receive a warning rather than a second yellow card for a series of crude challenges on Leon.
In a frantic final 10 minutes, the Matildas could have twice equalised late through Kerr and should have levelled through Cortnee Vine who inexplicably blazed her shot wide from 12 yards out.
That miss, though, paled into insignificance when compared to that from Cloe Lacasse up the other end, after she failed to hit the target with the goal at her mercy.
That left the Matildas, roared on by an increasingly frenetic crowd, a chance to equalise at the death, only for Kerr to once again be denied at by Sheridan.
Look back on how the match unfolded in our live blog.
Key events
Live updates
By Samantha Lewis
Until next time!
There's a lot to dissect from this game, with post-match comments still to come from both head coaches.
Canada's undefeated streak against Australia continues, but there were some promising signs today that the Matildas could snap that come the second friendly in Sydney on Tuesday.
I'll be there to take you through all the action once again. Until then, have a lovely weekend.
By Samantha Lewis
Soccer Twitter is not loving it
Could the blog stick around for the next few hours whilst I vent?
- Natty
Tweets under the #AUSvCAN thread have been increasingly sharp towards the Matildas' performance, particularly throughout the second half.
This was a chance for the team to show how far they've come in the last few months, but the way they fell apart defensively was pretty concerning.
Like Natty, I think there will be a lot of people venting for the next few hours...
By Samantha Lewis
FT: Canada 1 - 0 Australia
An edge-of-your-seat finish to a game that lurched between delightful, organised football and complete mayhem.
Canada will be thrilled with that result - not just the win, but also the clean sheet. They came into this game without their entire starting back-line but were able to keep their defensive reputation intact.
Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan was absolutely superb, making four enormous saves to keep out strikes from an increasingly-exasperated Sam Kerr.
Goal-scorer Adriana Leon was in fine form, scoring the game's only goal in the 12th minute, but her fellow winger Nichelle Prince was also probably unlucky not to add her name to the score-sheet after ripping apart Australia's left side.
That felt like ten games folded into one. It'll be interesting to see what Gustavsson makes of it all afterwards.
By Samantha Lewis
93' CHANCE SAM KERR!
A corner from Gorry finds the head of Sam Kerr, who connects beautifully in the air.
The ball spins towards Sheridan but the keeper makes a diving tip over the crossbar.
The follow-up corner is messy and out for a goal kick.
By Samantha Lewis
Four minutes of added time
Katrina Gorry stands over a free kick.
The crowd begins to swell.
Australia's players are crowded around the top of the box.
The midfielder sends a flat ball towards the area, and Clare Polkinghorne pops up on the near side.
The ball flicks off her head and goes over the bar.
Feels like the story of this game.
By Samantha Lewis
Interesting stats
It doesn't seem like it, but the stats show Australia have been largely in lockstep with Canada in terms of attack.
12 shots to 13.
6 on target to 5.
Despite that, though, it feels like Canada have really dominated the game since around the half-hour. Both goalkeepers have been immense, but the respective defensive lines have been wildly contrasting. Control versus chaos.
By Samantha Lewis
86' CHANCE AUS!
AAAAHHHHH.
We're up the other end now and the ball falls to Kerr in the box. Canada scramble, throwing themselves in front of every possible shooting angle.
Kerr pirouettes near the penalty spot and shoots, but the ball flies wide.
By Samantha Lewis
84' WHAT A MISS FROM CANADA
A stunning through-ball finds Cloe Lacasse, who bent her run beautifully behind Australia's back-line. She finds herself one-on-one with Lydia Williams and tries to round her to find a better angle, but her left-footed shot flies over the crossbar.
Insane miss.
By Samantha Lewis
81' CHANCE AUSTRALIA!
A nice touch in-field from Sam Kerr finds Cortnee Vine as she cuts inside and charges towards the box.
She opens her body up and shoots around the last scrambling defender, but the ball fizzes just wide of the far post.
Vine tumbles into the grass and puts her face in her hands. She can't believe she missed that.
By Samantha Lewis
78' Larissa Crummer replaces Emily Van Egmond
Gustavsson trying to empty his bench and give his players a decent run.
By Samantha Lewis
25,106 fans!
Fantastic turn-out for Australia's first match on home soil since April.
By Samantha Lewis
76' Almost a debut to remember!
One of those debutants, Clarissa Larisey, finds herself through on goal after a ball from fellow sub Simi Awujo.
She charges towards Lydia Williams and lets off a shot, but Williams stands strong.
Larisey will want that moment back.
By Samantha Lewis
74' Canada make two more subs
Adriana Leon and Nichelle Prince are both off the field, replaced by two teenagers making their international debuts.
You can almost hear the sigh of relief from Australia. Canada's two starting wingers tore them to shreds.
By Samantha Lewis
SOS
🥵
- Natty
Natty with the emoji that probably best represents the way the Matildas' defenders are feeling right now...
By Samantha Lewis
71' Nichelle Prince is getting closer
She's been on fire for Canada down the left, has Prince.
She cuts inside after a ball in behind Australia's defence but sends her shot just wide.
Head coach Bev Priestman throws her hands on her head. The winger deserves a goal today, you must say. Australia have got to do better to withstand this onslaught.
By Samantha Lewis
CHAOS
Australia are all over the place as Canada come storming forward again.
Prince lets off a shot that ricochets off a defender and spins wildly across the box.
Charlie Grant chases and throws herself in front of the follow-up.
The Matildas have lost all defensive shape and are looking very panicked these last few minutes.
By Samantha Lewis
67' CHANCE CANADA!
Lydia Williams to the rescue!
Nichelle Prince absolutely fizzes past Charlie Grant down the left and sends a brilliant cross into the box, which falls right into the path of Christine Sinclair.
The Canada captain shoots but Williams gets a strong palm onto it, to the tense squeals of the stadium.
The ball almost spills to the two Canadians stationed inside the six-yard box, but it's bundled away by a panicked Matildas defence.
That was Sinclair's last act of the game as she comes off shortly afterwards.
By Samantha Lewis
The kids are alright
The Canadian youngsters just look at a different level to the Matildas younger players. The Canadians look properly integrated into the team and like they belong at this level while the Aussie juniors look a bit all over the place and out of their depth.
- Shaun
Interesting observation from commenter Shaun below that Canada's young players look far more comfortable and content with the speed of international football than Australia's kids.
I'd have to agree - and it's worth noting that a number of Canada's youngsters, including Fleming and Huitema, have been part of the senior set-up for a number of years. In fact, Fleming played at the 2016 Rio Olympics the last time these two nations met.
Meanwhile, Australia have had to fast-track most of the younger players in this squad over the past 18 months. And in games like this, you can really tell what long-term planning versus short-term stop-gaps looks like.
By Samantha Lewis
63' Australia substitutions
Cortnee Vine, who was under a bit of an injury cloud coming into this game, replaces Emily Gielnik on the right wing.
As expected, Courtney Nevin comes off with that final warning, and is replaced by Tameka Yallop at left-back.
By Samantha Lewis
61' Canada substitutions
Sophie Schmidt replaces Chelsea's Jessie Fleming, who's been impressive in breaking through the lines in midfield.
Defensive midfielder Desiree Scott comes on for Julia Grosso, who worked hard in midfield but didn't have many stand-out moments.
