Bathurst star Bunt had stated her desire before the Berlin-based tournament for Australia to reach the semi-final stage, but a 5-2 defeat in Saturday night’s quarter-final against Belarus denied them that.

Still, in advancing beyond the pool stage the world number eight ranked Australians showed promise.

They upset world number three Czech Republic 2-1, while in their final pool game against European champions Germany, the green and golds fought back from a two-goal deficit to force a 2-all draw.

It was the first time that Germany had dropped a point in a World Cup round game.

“I have never been so proud of a team as I am today,” Australian coach Stewart Fenton posted on facebook after that result.

Australia’s other results included a 4-3 loss to Ukraine, a 3-all draw with Namibia and 2-1 win over Russia to place third in their pool.

The opening half of the quarter-final was tightly contested as the rivals went to the break locked at 2-all. After the resumption, Belarus scored twice in the space of six minutes to take the lead.

While Bunt’s side opted to replace their goalkeeper with the field player to try and claw things back, the closest they got was hitting the post in the final five minutes.

“Whilst I am devastated for the girls they could not have worked harder,” Fenton said. “Whilst this pain will be with them for a long time, they will also have some amazing memories.”