After a star turn against Brazil in the opening group game of the 2011 Women's World Cup, classy Aussie libero Uzunlar had a horror Sunday in Bochum when faced with the dangerous and quick Equatorial playmaker.

Twice the livewire Anonman robbed Uzunlar in possession on the edge of the box to coolly score and keep the Africans in the contest right to the end.

And while Elise Kellond-Knight conceded the Sydney FC defender was down about the two errors, she said the 21-year-old had the mental strength to deal with it ahead of Australia's crucial clash against Norway on Thursday morning Australian time.

"She was a little bit down obviously. Two critical errors, but she's that type of person who can bounce back and deal with it," Kellond-Knight to au.fourfourtwo.com.

"She seemed fine today which was good. You can't dwell on things. It's not good for your confidence levels. I'm sure it's not going to be on her mind at all as we approach the Norway game."

Uzunlar's went into the game with strapping around her leg but Kellond-Knight insisted this should not be used as an excuse.

"She was carrying a couple of niggles from what I know from a few sessions leading into the game but that's no excuse.

"When you step onto the pitch you can't let niggles affect you at all," she said.

"It was a really tough game. I think we're really happy to come away with three points. But we made it tough for ourselves."

The Brisbane Roar left back added that the move from a 4-3-3 to a more circumspect 4-4-2 late in the game didn't help.

"We changed the formation towards the end of the game which was a little bit more of a defensive structure which had a little bit more of an impact on us as we tried to protect our lead," Kellond-Knight said.

"Then we had that mistake in front of goal and we sort of let them back into the game. It's not what you want them to do.It added to our stress levels."

Coach Tom Sermanni made a raft of changes for the clash against the Africans, and with the short turnaround between games it's likely he will ring more changes against Norway.

Brazil confirmed qualification to the knockout stage after they defeated the Scandinavians 3-0 in their second group game.

With both Australia and Norway on three points, a spot in the quarter-finals is up for grabs. It all makes for a nerve-jangling 90 minutes for the fans - although the Matildas are their usual calm and collected.

"We've watched them and know what to expect. And we know what we need to do. It's just a case of doing it on the day," said Kellond-Knight about a nation that have never failed to reach the quarter-final stage of a World Cup.

"To take all three points is the main aim."

Meanwhile the Australian camp is playing down the extraordinarily blatant handball missed by referee Gyoengyi Gaal in the first half against Equatorial Guinea.

With Australia a goal to the good thanks to Leena Khamis, the same player's clipped shot hit the post on 16 minutes and bounced back into play.

It fell to Equatorial defender Bruna who inexplicably picked up the ball inside the box and held it for a few seconds before dropping the ball.

With the world watching the Hungarian referee didn't blow for a spot kick, she simply waved play on in the face of some incredulous Matildas strikers.

'It's probably one of the strangest things I've seen," Sermanni told media.

SEE FOOTAGE OF THE AMAZING HANDBALL HERE

The Matildas face Norway on Wednesday (early Thursday morning AEST time). Coverage is on SBS-TV and for more on the Matildas check out the June issue of FourFourTwo magazine.