Sharn Freier in action during her Matildas debut against Mexico. Photo: Football Australia

The Matildas have fallen 2-1 to Canada in their final preparation before the Paris Olympic Games in Marbella, Spain.

A very late change saw Sharn Freier make her first start for the Matildas, replacing Caitlin Foord who pulled out during warmups with quad soreness.

Her inclusion saw her score the opening goal of the game, scored against the run of play after Canada had enjoyed a long spell of possession.

Mary Fowler’s ever cool disposition on the ball, despite the heat, made the correct choice to play in Freier on the far-left side, giving the Queenslander just enough time to get the left-footed shot off, beating out Canadian keeper Kailen Sheridan.

While looking much more confident on the ball after scoring, Australia still struggled to play out from their three-player strong backline to move past the looming Canadian press.

Before the half-time whistle blew, Canada found their equaliser through forward Nichelle Prince.

Cloé Lacasse put in a cross for Canada and what would usually be a routine save for keeper Mackenzie Arnold, was uncharacteristically bobbled in her hands and spilled out for Prince to poach.

The second half saw multiple changes made by Australia, making five substitutions at the half-time break, while Canada chose to drip-feed their substitutes across the 45 minutes, making a total of eight changes with the match being played as a B international fixture, not an A international marked fixture.

Canada again held most of the possession with Australia finding pockets of time to push forward.

The game winner came late to Canada, after taking advantage of the Matildas’ defence that had turned off their attention for all of a second, scored by Evelyne Viens, who remained composed in front of goal while surrounded by teal shirts.

The dying minutes of the game had Australia make a final push at scoring to try and tie up the game, but they were unsuccessful, leaving Canada victorious only 12 days out from the Olympic Tournament.

Australia now look ahead to their opening game against Germany, which kicks off at 3am AEST on July 26.

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