By Anna Harrington in Brisbane

THE Matildas will head into the Women’s World Cup knockout phase confident a new-found maturity has them placed to go deep into their home tournament.

Australia booked their ticket to the knockout stage, and top spot in Group B, with a thumping, mature and comprehensive 4-0 win over Olympic champions Canada in Melbourne on Monday night.

They will return to Brisbane on Tuesday and prepare to play the team who finished second in Group D, most likely Denmark or China, in Sydney on August 7.

Group leaders England (six points) play third-placed China (three) on Tuesday, while simultaneously Denmark (three) take on Haiti (zero).

The Matildas could have folded after Thursday’s demoralising 3-2 loss to Nigeria that left their World Cup on the brink – and that stand-in captain Steph Catley noted “wasn’t good enough”.

Four days later, after sharing some honest truths, they looked a completely different team.

The manner in which the Matildas knocked out Canada – minus Sam Kerr, but with patience, maturity and a hard-nosed determination, has them believing they can go on and do anything.

“There was a fire in everyone’s eyes and I just knew everyone was out there to do everything they could to win at all costs,” Catley told reporters.

“It was a mature performance, to be honest. They had a lot of the ball. They’re an incredible team. They defend well, they keep the ball, they create chances.

“So the way we defended together and the way that we countered that was mature.

“At times in the past, we’ve let moments like that get the better of us and I think it shows we’ve come a long way and we’re ready for a tournament like this.”

Defender Ellie Carpenter admitted the backs-to-the-wall factor inspired the victory.

“But we need this every match now and we’re not going to get too far ahead of ourselves,” she said.

“We need to reproduce that performance – because if we play like that, we can beat anyone.”

In pulling through, the Matildas delivered the perfect response to the pressure that had been piling on coach Tony Gustavsson.

He insisted his charges could deliver without their backs to the wall, but admitted their “never-say-die” attitude will help in the knockouts.

“Just the fact that it is must-win all the way through I think helps this team because it means the pressure will be on every single game,” Gustavsson said.

“If we can have the same mindset moving forward, it feels really good.”

Australia will also take heart from their attack functioning brilliantly without Kerr, who gets another week to recover from her calf injury.

Hayley Raso scored a brace, Mary Fowler nailed her first World Cup goal and that pair, along with Emily van Egmond and Caitlin Foord, worked seamlessly as a front four.

“Having that belief as a team (to be without) in my opinion the best striker in the world, which I think Sam is, and still go out and play the fluid football we did against the Olympic champions and score four goals, I think is very impressive,” Gustavsson said.