Australia are through to the knockout stages, Zambia beat Costa Rica to secure first-ever win at Women's World Cup

Australia arrived at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium knowing they needed to win against Olympic champions Canada to guarantee a place in the knockout stages.

They were once again without captain Sam Kerr, with the Chelsea forward still struggling after injuring her calf on the eve of the tournament.

It was the co-hosts who started fastest and they took the lead with less than ten minutes on the clock, despite a lengthy pause for a VAR check.

Steph Catley was deemed to be onside as she broke away down the left before providing a low cross for Hayley Raso to tuck into the net.

Despite Australia’s early dominance, Canada had a big chance to equalise but Adriana Leon was unable to connect at the back post following Julia Grosso’s flick on.

Australia thought they had doubled their lead when Mary Fowler smashed the ball in from close range, only for the goal to be ruled out due to Ellie Carpenter standing in an offside position.

However, just moments later, they were not to be denied as Raso tapped home her second of the match after Canada failed to deal with an in-swinging corner.

Fowler did finally get a goal to her name in the second half as she sprinted to keep up with the breakaway run of Caitlin Foord, before bundling her team-mate’s cross into the net.

Catley scored an injury time penalty to seal an emphatic 4-0 victory, which sees them finish top of Group B.

Canada are out of the tournament after finishing third in the table in a below-par tournament from the Olympics champions.

Zambia scored the 1,000th goal in Women’s World Cup history on their way to an historic first-ever win at the tournament.

The lowest-ranked side in Australia and New Zealand came out on top against Costa Rica, winning 3-1.

These teams had already been dumped out of the tournament before their clash in Hamilton, but both nations were keen to play for pride and record a win.

It was a rapid start from Zambia, who scored their first-ever goal at a World Cup after just three minutes.

Lushomo Mweemba raced in front of her marker to meet a corner with a sumptuous volley which she guided over the head of Costa Rica goalkeeper Daniela Solera.

Things got better for Zambia just after the half an hour mark when a controversial penalty was awarded after Barbra Banda was adjudged to have been fouled, when it looked as though her foot slipped as she attempted to take a shot on goal.

The Zambia captain got back to her feet to slot the ball into the bottom left hand corner and score the 1,000th goal in Women’s World Cup history.

Costa Rica pushed to get themselves back into the game before the break, and with the whistle fast approaching they watched their best chance come back off the crossbar, with Maria Coto’s header being kept out by the woodwork.

Amelia Valverde’s team started the second half as quickly as they ended the first, and they halved the deficit after just two minutes of the restart.

Zambia goalkeeper Catherine Musonda failed to deal with a corner as she challenged with Valeria del Campo, and the ball eventually fell into the net via the midriff of Melissa Herrera.

VAR denied Costa Rica the chance to equalise from the penalty spot after an offside was spotted in the build-up to a foul by Musonda on Priscila Chinchilla in the box.

Zambia were let off once more when the offside flag saved them after Herrera fired in from a tight angle after a quick break.

Despite Costa Rica continuing to push for a leveller, Zambia sealed a memorable victory in stoppage time with Racheal Kundananji slotting past Solera following a delicious reverse pass from Banda.

Zambia finish 3rd in Group C, with Costa Rica bottom of the table without a win.

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