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Australian coach remains positive despite defeat to USA

Xinhua, June 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

The coach of the Australian women's football team remains upbeat about his team's chances of advancing to the next round of the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, despite the Matildas' 3-1 loss to the USA on Tuesday.

Coach Alen Stajcic said while he was disappointed with the defeat, Australia could still escape what local media has dubbed the "group of death".

"Obviously (we are) very disappointed with the result. I thought the performance was quite good in patches of the game," Stajcic said after the match on Tuesday.

"I thought we certainly had plenty of chances, especially in the first half.

"(But) there's a lot of football still to be played, it's just one game. You've got to regroup, see how everyone's health is and certainly you're going to see another big performance from Australia in the next round."

The loss was compounded by news that co-captain Lisa De Vanna was in serious doubt for the Matildas' next match against Nigeria on June 12 after she suffered an ankle injury in the loss to the USA and had to be helped from the field.

That would mean the Matildas could be without both co-captains, as Clare Polkinghorne is still recovering from a hamstring injury which she took on during training on Friday.

De Vanna was the sole goal scorer in her 100th international match, and the milestone matches Australian men's footballer Tim Cahill's record of scoring in three consecutive World Cup campaigns.

The Matildas were dealt a tough group stage for the World Cup, with matches against powerhouses the USA, Sweden and Nigeria.

The USA is favorite to win the tournament, closely followed by Germany, while Sweden is fifth favorite to take home the silverware.

Currently sitting on the bottom of the group table after Nigeria and Sweden fought out a 3-3 draw, the Matildas will probably have to win both of their remaining group matches to advance to the next stage of the tournament.

De Vanna said she would be doing everything she could to make sure she could take to the field against Nigeria on Friday (Canada time).

"It was the ankle I broke a couple of years ago so it's not the strongest ankle at the moment," she said.

"(But) I'll make sure it's okay ... it's all in my head."

The Matildas will face Nigeria in Winnipeg on June 12 and Sweden in Edmonton on June 16. Endi