Why the Matildas can FORGET winning gold at the Paris Olympics after disastrous loss to Germany

The Matildas entered the Paris Olympics quietly confident they could be gold medallists - but that dream is already highly unlikely after they were outclassed 3-0 by Germany in their group opener.

Tony Gustavsson's squad were at times chasing shadows in Marseille, and were fortunate not to concede five or six goals against the nation ranked fourth in the world.

A first-half header from Marina Hegering gave Germany the lead from a corner before second-half efforts from Lea Schüller and Jule Brand ensured the result.

Post-game, a deflated Gustavsson described the loss as a 'wake up call' - and leaves Australia needing to defeat Zambia on Monday morning [July 29, 3am AEDT] to be any chance of progressing beyond the group stage.

Fortunately, you don't need to reach for your calculator for this tournament because there are no draws.

A win against Zambia is going to be essential. A loss would be curtains for the Matildas, but with the African nation coming in ranked 92 in the world, it would be a seismic loss if the Tillies were rolled.

The United States have already beaten Zambia 3-0, which is bad news for Australia. It means the Matildas will be sweating on Germany beating USA to keep their destiny in their own hands.

If Germany win, they will top the group and it will come down to a showdown between USA and Australia.

If USA beat Germany, the Matildas will have to pray for a boilover result in the Zambia v Germany match [which will be played at the same time as Australia v USA], or its curtains again.

USA will be snarling after their embarrasing group stage exit at the World Cup and not to be taken lightly.

The US might have slipped to fifth in the world rankings, but they have tasted defeat just once in 12 matches this year and have slammed home 27 goals - an average of just over two in every match.

It might sound doable on paper, but the Matildas have only beaten the US once in the 33 times they have played and only average a single goal per game against the traditional powerhouse.

The hoodoo was broken in 2017 in the Tournament of Nations, but it remains the only time the Matildas have beaten the US in history.

So to reach medal contention, all the Matildas need to do is beat a team they never beat, who are in red hot form, without Sam Kerr.

And it comes after captain Steph Catley acknowledged the Matildas were second-rate against Germany.

'We have two more games and we have to turn it around quickly. We have a lot to learn from here,' she said.

'We are usually much, much better on set pieces. It was not to our standard and we need to be better for the next game and turn this tournament around.'

Frustrated Matildas fans were savage in their assessment on social media - with young gun Mary Fowler in the firing line.

'She [Fowler] is such a frustrating player. Like many creative players before her, she just blows so hot and cold,' one fan said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

'Can Mary Fowler touch the ball or something ? I honestly didn't even know she was on the pitch,' fumed another fan.

And third supporter weighed in with: 'Horrible performance! The two worst players on the pitch were Mary Fowler and Alanna Kennedy.'

Socceroos great Craig Foster felt the defence was to blame for the insipid performance.

'Alanna [Kennedy] and Ellie [Carpenter] got themselves mixed up there,' he observed in commentary after the first goal.

'Ellie was going the wrong way and her defender has come in [at the far post]. Her body position [was off], she wasn't able to see.'