Canada exits the Women's World Cup early, following an astonishing and lopsided 4-0 loss to Australia on Monday.

The 10th-ranked Matildas needed a victory to guarantee their advance to the knockout stage of the tournament and they wasted no time in accomplishing the task; the match was one-sided from the start.

Hayley Raso scored two goals in the first half against Canada's weak defense, and the score could have been 3-0 in the first half, but a third Australian goal was disallowed for offside. Canada failed to register a single shot on target in the first half and looked unsettled.

Things got worse as Mary Fowler made it 3-0 in the 58th minute, and Steph Catley converted a penalty in stoppage time after a video review confirmed a foul against Canadian Jessie Fleming on the edge of the penalty area.

Veteran midfielder Sophie Schmidt, who had previously stated she would retire from international football, said after the match that she was "heartbroken," adding, "I feel really awful. I feel we let down the Canadians who woke up early to watch that game," referring to the 6 a.m. Eastern Time kickoff. "Australia came out strong and executed their game plan perfectly."

Fleming and defender Vanessa Gill fought back tears while talking to reporters. "A bad night," Fleming said. "I feel a huge disappointment. We have a world-class team with us and world-class supporters, and I don't think we represented them well enough tonight. I just think this team has so much to give and such a better performance, we didn't show that tonight."

Gill said, "The Australians outplayed us today, and there's no hiding from that."

A draw or win would have sent the seventh-ranked Canadians through to the Round of 16, but they quickly found themselves facing a mountain to climb in front of a partisan crowd announced at 27,706 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

And now they return home after three matches, finishing third in Group B with a record of 1-1-1. They are the first defending Olympic champions to exit in the group stage of the World Cup.

This is Canada's worst finish in the tournament, having not won since 2011 and finishing last, and it may also be the worst performance for the Canadian women in recent years.

This is another blow to Canadian soccer in a year marred by a bitter labor dispute, although coach Bev Priestman and her players refused to point fingers at off-field distractions.