Historic: Las Diablas defeated Australia in the World Cup

The Diablas beat Australia for the first time (2 to 1) and it was in their second appearance in the Santiago 2026 World Cup. In this way they add six units, Australia three, the same as France and Switzerland without points.

During the first quarter, Chile’s pressure led to better situations for the Americans who got two short corners but without success to exchange them for a goal. Australia only woke up at the end of the second quarter and a shot on goal allowed them show off Natalia Salvador and keep the local goal at zero until halftime.

It was not possible to see in the game the distance in the international ranking – the Oceanic team are within the Top 10, in 8th place, and the Chilean team is in 15th place. Those lower down did a perfect job of bridging that paper gap. At 42′ it arrived, that effort materialized through a goal from Josefa Salas after grabbing a rebound from a short corner. They went to the last quarter with the score 1-0 in favor of Las Diablas.

The yellow team needed just a few minutes to equalize: Stephanie Kershaw was in charge of leaving things tied 1-1 after a shot on goal in the 45th minute.

The ending was not for the nervous. A round trip that could leave anyone with an advantage and a step into the semifinals, but none of them could make it happen. Until a string of corners gave the Diablas the chance to make history. Jesu Maldonado converted, the stadium and the people exploded and the score was 2-1 for Chile at the Claudia Schüler Stadium.

Las Diablas close the Group, on Thursday the 5th at 7:45 p.m. against France. Before, at 5:30 p.m., they play Switzerland vs. Australia.