Well there you have it.

Canada started the match looking every bit the World Cup contender they are, but ended up falling flat as the match wore on.

Nigeria, on the other hand, looked all at sea before going from strength to strength.

In the end, the tale of the tape suggests Canada should have walked away with the three points, especially when you consider that they enjoyed 68 percent possession while edging the Super Falcons 16-11 in total shots.

With one match completed for all teams in Group B, Australia sit on top with three points, while Canada and Nigeria inhabit the next few spots with a point each.

Ireland rounds out the group, but after the encouraging performance they put in against the Matildas, they will be liking their chances at progression.

We hope you enjoyed our coverage of today’s match. Do join us again when we cover some other choice World Cup matches to come.

Jordyn Huitema, who was one of the standout players for Canada, had this to say post-match: “We are disappointed with the result. We wanted more from ourselves.

“There is still lots to play for [in this tournament]. We need to learn from this game and move forward.

“There is always moments we need to take advantage of. It is about finishing our opportunities and making the most of our final passes.”

Canada manager Bev Priestman shared her thoughts after the match: “We take a point from it [ultimately]. I was really pleased with the push in the end [by the side].”

“Credit to Nigeria. They had a game plan and were dangerous on the counterattack.

“We got into the box a lot, and had some chances we couldn’t get over the line. That’s tournament football. We dust ourselves and move onto the next match.

“I thought all the players brought something to the pitch. Everybody would expect her (Christine Sinclair) to score [the penalty]. She has scored goal after goal after goal for this country, but ultimately tournament football is about moving on.”

With stoppage time going past the 10-minute mark, the referee finally blows the whistle as the match ends in a goalless draw.

It is an opportunity missed by the seventh-ranked side, as Canada will rue the lacklustre penalty attempt from Sinclair earlier in the half.

Nigeria, on the other hand, will take this result as they have earned their first clean sheet in an opening match of a World Cup.

Considering what a tough group they are in with Australia and Ireland, this result could come back to haunt the Canadians down the road.

Full-time: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Canada are desperate to pull off a last-gasp winner, and Viens is booked after trying to win a ball inside the Nigerian box.

90+10 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

While a yellow was initially shown to Abiodun for a bad challenge on Lawrence, the referee heads to the sideline to have a second look.

The final decision results in a red card for Abiodon.

With just a minute or so left, the Super Falcons should hold on.

90+8 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

The delivery comes in from the left and Nnadozie comes forward to punch the ball away.

She is brought down in the effort and looks to be in some bother, but she is soon back on her feet and signals she is good to proceed.

90+5 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

After a searching run just right of middle, Lacasse trips over in the box and fails to recover the ball from the nearby marker.

It pretty much epitomises the kind of half the Canadians have been having.

90+4 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Time is running out as Huitema fails to latch on convincingly to a looped ball in from the left side.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Echegini comes on as Oshoala heads to the sideline.

And due to the more feisty nature of this second half, we will have eight additional minutes of stoppage time.

90+1 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

It is the end of Onomonu’s participation in this encounter as she is subbed for Esther Okoronkwo.

86 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

The attempt is taken from the right, with the delivery coming at an appreciable height into the middle.

Sheridan rises to catch the ball, but the sea of green players around her means the ball bobbles a few times before the referee blows for a Canadian free kick.

85 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Time for another change as Canada’s Grosso is subbed off for Nichelle Prince.

83 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

In what was a blatant offside scenario, Kanu receives the ball in the middle with just the one trailing defender.

She goes for goal but Sheridan sticks out her leg to make the key save.

Soon after, a sheepish linesman raises the flag.

81 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Courtesy of a rough tackle from Lawrence on Kanu, Nigeria are afforded a free kick from the left side about 25m out.

Lawrence is handed a yellow for the offence.

The ball is chipped into the middle, with the ball finding the feet of Alozie.

She straight away goes for goal, but the ball is deflected away by the foot of a close-in Canadian defender.

The resulting corner on the left ends up being cleared away.

76 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Huitema receives the ball from the left and opts for a shot on net. The ball appears to hit the hand of the Nigerian defender marking her.

She raises her arms in protest but upon second viewing it looks like the initial impact came off the body of the defender.

The Super Falcons would have been mighty displeased if they had to give up yet another penalty.

They also make their first substitution of the match as Uchenna Kanu comes on for Ordega.

74 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Canada have been working Huitema on that left flank, but Nigeria continue to scupper out any potential threats.

The fatigue is starting to show as Nnadozie gets her leg addressed by the physio.

Meanwhile, the experienced Sophie Schmidt and Allysha Chapman wait on the sideline as Sinclair and Riviere trudge off.

71 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

After picking up the ball on the left side of the box, Viens issues a quick strike at the near post.

However, the angle was always in favour of Nnadozie, who is able to get behind it comfortably.

67 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Canada manager Bev Priestman is looking to make some changes to the status quo as Evelyne Viens is ushered off the bench.

Leon, who has had her moments, is the unlucky player to come off.

65 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Nigeria have looked to play with a sense of urgency so far in comparison with the first half.

Canada on the other hand, were much more fluent in attack in the first act, but have failed to create anything of note so far in the second.

61 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Alozie’s strong aerial challenge on the left side gives Canada a free kick opportunity to work the ball into the middle.

The attempt is taken from about 30m out.

Leon decides to test the goalkeeper from distance with a curler at the near post, but is slightly off the mark as Nnadozie covers the angle.

58 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

An egregious challenge on Huitema on the right flank means Demehin goes into the referee’s naughty list.

54 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Sinclair elects to go bottom right, and Nnadozie was all over it as she blocks the initial attempt before pawing away the rebound from Sinclair’s grasp.

The Super Falcons are overjoyed and Sinclair bends over in disbelief at missing a golden opportunity to put her side ahead.

51 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

After a thorough check on the sideline, the referee points to the spot.

It will be Sinclair who will look to score her 191st goal.

50 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Sinclair receives the ball inside of the box, but a poor first touch allows Ordega to come in with a strong challenge which dispossessed the Canadian.

There is backlash from the Canadian players, which ultimately leads to the referee going in for a VAR check for a possible penalty.

48 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Both sides are back on the field after a much-needed breather.

It will be Nigeria to kick things off in the second half at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

Meanwhile, Canada have made a change as Rose comes off for Chloe Lacasse.

46 mins: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Canada continue to search right to the final seconds as Grosso sends in a long ball which is unable to find a suitor.

The referee blows soon after to signal the end of the first half.

Nigeria looked up against it when the Maple Leafs came out guns blazing.

After the initial onslaught, however, they were able to ease back into the contest, and started to develop some threatening attacks of their own.

Oshoala’s failed attempt to try and find a teammate inside the box may be the most significant play yet, but there is still another 45 minutes to come.

Canada look the more organised side, but Nigeria have exhibited flashes of brilliance which will surely rest in the back of their minds.

Half-time: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

A somewhat sedate first half only earns two additional minutes of stoppage time from the fourth official.

45+1 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Leon darts in from the left side with a defender close on her heels.

Running out of space, she tries to catch Rose’s run inside of the box.

Nnadozie is aware of the danger, and steps out to claim the ball before it reached Rose’s boot.

43 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Payne looks to find a receiver inside of the box from the left side.

The ball instead finds the trailing marker as it goes out of bounds.

The attempt is taken from the right, but nothing of substance comes from it.

40 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

This could have been the opening goal.

Oshoala receives a long ball from the left side, but it appears it will be intercepted by a converging Sheridan.

However, the Canadian mistimes her clearing slide, and Oshoala bursts through to pick up the ball.

Despite the defender on her, she sends in a pass towards the middle, which catches the ankle of a trailing Canadian defender.

The ball heads into no-man’s land with Lawrence having to effectively take a hit from the ensuing Nigerian forward as the ball is ultimately taken out of danger.

35 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

After a few failed corner attempts, Nigeria recover the ball once more.

This time Abiodun steps forward to launch a strike at net, but gets too much elevation on it to test the Canadian keeper.

33 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

After receiving a cross from the left side, Huitema catches it at its apex, but is unable to power it at net.

The ball ends up bobbling over to Nnadozie, who after fumbling the initial return, is able to hold on.

30 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

The momentum was largely in Canada’s favour from the outset.

Nigeria, however, have managed to wrest it back with some intelligent play.

Canada have thrown wave after wave of attack, but Nigeria have always managed to find a solution.

27 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

The Canadian goalkeeper is made to work after diving fully stretched to her left to stop a well-placed curler from Payne from outside of the box.

First shot on target from Nigeria as they announce themselves to the Melbourne crowd.

23 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

After a frenetic Canadian push in the first 15 minutes, they look to have settled down a touch.

In response, the Nigerians have started to advance up the pitch to try and enforce themselves in this contest.

22 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Huitema bursts down the left flank but is brought down heavily by Alozie.

The Nigerian defender is lucky to not be brandished with a yellow card for the offence.

19 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Quinn brings down the FC Barcelona star striker, and she does not get up right away.

There is some concern from the Nigerian bench, but it looks like she will play on for now.

17 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

It is taken from the left side, with the delivery slanting towards the back post.

There is some interest as a Canadian head gets on the end of it, but Nigeria are soon able to clear out the threat.

15 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

They have upped the ante as they move further up the field.

Almost all of the opening 10 minutes has been in the Canadian final third, and one gets the sense it is only a matter of time before a breakthrough is made.

13 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

A fantastic probing run from Lawrence on the left side finds a completely open Canadian captain just outside the box.

Sinclair looks to put her laces through the shot, but gets too much elevation to threaten the goalkeeper as it curves right.

First real signal of intent from the Canadians, and surely more to come if the match continues in this fashion.

10 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

They look quite content to work the ball between the back line and try to spot any openings between the lines inside Nigeria’s half.

The Super Falcons are holding a decent defensive shape, so it will be interesting to see how they operate on the counter.

8 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

It has been a bit slap dash in the opening minutes as both sides jostle to keep the ball.

Nigeria are sitting back noticeably thus far, with Canada looking to take advantage of the open territory to try and work out an attack.

4 minutes: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

The pre-match photos have been taken and the players race to their positions.

Both sides have settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation, and it will be Canada to open proceedings here at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

Canada don their traditional red kit, while Nigeria have on their signature fluorescent green.

1 minute: Nigeria 0-0 Canada

Both teams are out on the pitch on this sunny Melbourne afternoon to stand for their respective anthems.

There are plenty of fans on both sides so the atmosphere should be electric!

With an astounding 323 caps to her name, captain Christine Sinclair will look to lead this deep and talented Canadian team from the front.

The squad includes familiar faces in Sophie Schmidt (221 caps), Kadeisha Buchanan (131), Ashley Lawrence (117) and Jessie Fleming (115).

Fans back home will be hoping they can align to try and improve upon Canada’s best World Cup finish, when they finished fourth in 2003.

Nigeria: Chiamaka Nnadozie (GK), Michelle Alozie, Ashleigh Plumptre, Blessing Demehin, Osinachi Ohale, Christy Ucheibe, Toni Payne, Deborah Abiodun, Francisca Ordega, Ifeoma Onomonu, Asisat Oshoala.

Canada: Kailen Sheridan (GK), Kadeisha Buchanan, Jayde Riviere, Vanessa Gilles, Ashley Lawrence, Quinn, Julia Grosso, Deanne Rose, Christine Sinclair (C), Jordyn Huitema, Adriana Leon

Nigeria are the only CAF (Confederation of African Football) nation to participate in all nine World Cups held.

However, they have only reached the knockout stage twice before in eight previous attempts, a record they will desperately want to correct today.

The two sides have met on five previous occasions, with two of those coming in a World Cup setting.

The Super Falcons have the edge on those with a 3-3 draw in 1995 before edging out Canada in a 1-0 victory in 2011.

The Maple Leafs, however, have the stick on Nigeria in recent encounters, which includes a 2-2 draw in their latest outing back in April 2022.

Canada’s captain Christine Sinclair, is the world’s leading goal scorer in international football with 190 goals in 232 appearances, and will hope she can sign off from what could be her last FIFA World Cup in style.

Sinclair said her team should not be counted out as it is “full of rock stars”.

“We were overlooked heading into the Tokyo Olympics and showed what we can do,” said the 40-year-old forward before the match.

“We can beat any team in the world,” she said. “It’s [winning is] contagious, you want to do it again and it’s just motivated us to prove to the world what we can do again.”

The 28-year-old Barcelona forward became the first ever African player to win the Women’s Champions League in 2021, only to go and win it again two seasons later – although she was injured for the final.

She is also a five-time African player of the year and the first African to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or Féminin.

Oshoala scored in Nigeria’s 2015 and 2019 World Cup appearances and will hope to guide a strong Nigeria side out of the group stages, where they are matched with Ireland, Australia and Canada.

She will be among the players to watch in the most highly anticipated FIFA Women’s World Cup yet.

Nigeria have had their own pre-tournament fight for equality as their coach Randy Waldrum criticised the Nigerian federation and received a rebuke.

“I think the players have appreciated the fact that I will step up for them and speak out on their behalf,” Waldrum said of his comments about the federation’s financial support for his team.

“As a coach, I need to be a voice for the girls and fight for the things that they deserve to be getting.”

Ever since the Super Falcons touched down in Australia this month, though, the mindset of Waldrum and his team has shifted from pay and conditions to the task at hand.

“Forget about the distractions, and just focus on the game,” Oshoala, who plays for Barcelona, said.

It’s a sentiment Waldrum, who coaches the University of Pittsburgh women’s football team, fully supports.

“What we’ve said is out there. Now, let’s set it aside and focus on football,” he said. “Everything has always been about football.”

Canada’s football team has been at the forefront of the fight for pay equity and greater support from Canada Soccer, the sport’s governing body in their country.

In February, the players said they did not benefit from the same level of support as the men’s national team, which last year qualified for its first World Cup in 36 years, and were told “to simply make do with less”.

“We are tired – tired of constantly having to fight for fair and equal treatment, and for a program that will give us a chance to achieve what we know this team is capable of achieving for Canada,” they wrote in announcing a planned strike at that time.

Canada will be without their experienced forward Janine Beckie, who misses out on the tournament after picking up an ACL injury playing for the Portland Thorns in March.

The 28-year-old forward has made more than 100 appearances for her country and was part of the gold-medal-winning team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

ACL injuries have dominated headlines ahead of the tournament, as dozens of top women footballers – from the Netherlands’s Vivianne Miedema to Marie-Antoinette Katoto of France and England’s Beth Mead – have been sidelined.

Although Nigeria head into the clash with a poor record against the North American team, having only won one of their four previous matchups, the Super Falcons will rely on a string of recent wins to get them off to a good start.

The Nigerian squad is full of talent, especially with the attacking trident of Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala – who has just won the Champions League, Saint-Étienne forward Esther Okoronkwo and Atlético Madrid’s Rasheedat Ajibade.

Nigeria’s former captain Perpetua Nkwocha has backed the team to show the world how “determined and talented” they are.

Here’s how both teams have fared in international football competitions:

Nigeria: The Super Eagles have made an appearance in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and their best finish – quarter-finals – came in 1999 in the United States.

The women in green have enjoyed unmatched dominance at regional level, having won 11 of the 14 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations although they finished fourth at the last edition in Morocco last year.

Their Olympic record isn’t too bad either, as they managed to reach the quarter-finals at the 2004 games in Athens.

Canada: The Maple Leafs made their World Cup debut in 1995, but failed to progress past the group stage. Their best result came at the 2003 edition when they lost to the US in the third-place playoff.

Their best moment on the football pitch came at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where they won gold.

Canada have also won the CONCACAF championship on two occasions: 1998 and 2010.

Hello and welcome to the second day of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Melbourne, where Nigeria take on Canada in Group B.

Both teams will be eager to get points on the board after Australia bagged three points with their win over Ireland in Sydney on Thursday.

The match kicks off at 12:30pm local time (02:30 GMT) at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, which organisers hope will be packed to capacity with nearly 30,000 spectators.

Yesterday’s match involving the co-hosts saw more than 75,000 fans at Stadium Australia in Sydney, marking a record attendance at a women’s football match in the country.