A 2-1 loss to the United States has the Matildas shockingly leaving Paris at the conclusion of their group stage matches.
The women headed to the Olympics in contention of a podium finish, but instead have failed to advance to the quarter finals for the first time in their five Olympic appearances.
It’s a huge fall for the team which finished fourth at Tokyo as well as last year’s World Cup.
The Matildas needed to win or draw against the United States to advance, however only found the back of the net once through Alana Kennedy to their opponent’s two goals.
With a loss on their hands, the Matildas then had to wait for the results of Canada vs Columbia to see if they would progress. Unfortunately, with Canada securing the win, it knocked the Australian girls out.
They finish their Olympic campaign with earlier results of a 3-0 loss to Germany and a narroe 6-5 win to Zambia.
Head coach Tony Gustavsson was proud of his team’s achievements against the United States, knowing a win was going to be tough against the world’s current best side.
Going into the match, the Matildas had only ever beat the United States – the four-time Olympic gold medallists – once.
“There has never been a question mark on any single player when it comes to commitment or wanting to give it 100 per cent,” he said post-match.
“What we have talked about is the form going into this tournament, considering the amount injuries we had in the six months and the lack of club minutes and maybe also the lack of games against top ranked opposition.
“We’ve done everything we can to control the controllables and make the team as ready as possible.”