Mackenzie Arnold kept a clean sheet as Australia eased into the FIFA Women's World Cup knockout stages with a 4-0 win over Canada on Monday.
Hosts Australia went into the meeting with their Group B rivals needing victory to overhaul them and advance, yet there was no sign of pressure on the Matildas as they got the job done with something to spare.
Cheered on by a near-28,000 crowd in Melbourne, Australia wasted little time in establishing a lead, Real Madrid's Hayley Raso firing into the bottom corner with only nine minutes on the clock. Raso netted a second following a corner shortly before half-time and Australia were firmly in control.
The Matildas did not relinquish their grip on the contest in the second period, with Manchester City forward Mary Fowler making it 3-0 13 minutes after the restart.
A thumping victory over the Olympic Gold Medalists was confirmed in stoppage time by Steph Catley's penalty.
Australia's victory saw them leapfrog both Canada and Nigeria, who ended in second and joined the hosts in the knockout stages, to top Group B and set up a round of 16 tie against Group D's second-place team, which could be the Netherlands, United States or Portugal, in Sydney next Tuesday.
Arnold's team have never gone beyond the quarter-finals at a World Cup and will be hoping to better that in the weeks ahead.
