Canada deflecting the pressure, while Australia feeling the home heat at Women's World Cup

"Pressure is everything you make it," Canadian women's soccer head coach Bev Priestman said Sunday after the team's training session before it's final group-stage game Monday (6 a.m. ET) against co-host Australia at the Women's World Cup.

The stakes are high for both teams, as either could advance to the Round of 16 or be eliminated depending on that game's result and the other Group B match against Nigeria and Ireland.

There have been challenges off the field with the now-settled labour negotiations with Canada Soccer, but this team needs to push forward in a way that their mental strength is utilized as much as their physical capacity. Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is sold out and I expect there will be yellow and green, the colours of the home-team Matildas, throughout the stadium with a just sprinkling of red and white for the visitors.

But is the pressure to perform more of a hindrance? Canada can advance with a win or a draw, but Australia is in a win-or-stay-home predicament. If they do not come through with a win, they are out of the tournament. Being eliminated from the group stage is not something any host country wants on their resume.

Australian coach Tony Gustavsson said put it matter-of-factly: "It is a failure if we don't go out of the group."

WATCH: Soccer North previews Canada vs. Australia:

Watch Soccer North Live Monday July 31 at 8:30 a.m. ET on cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports YouTube Channel for post-match analysis of Canada vs. Ireland with Andi Petrillo and Diana Matheson.

At the biggest Women's World Cup in history, that pressure and that desire to go on can bring either stress or success. 

The Australian press has been dominated with stories about Gustavsson's failures to add substitutions in