For the first time, Australia is sending a team to a football World Cup with a genuine chance of winning it.
If the Matildas become world champions in Lyon on July 8, it would be a remarkable achievement but not an unbelievable one.
Australia’s women’s football team has risen from an outsider to a contender in the world’s most popular sport. Step by step, over the years and decades, it has built its reputation abroad, as well as within a very crowded sporting landscape at home.
The Matildas are admired by sporting fans across Australia for both their style of play and attitude on and off the pitch.
In the 2018 Benchmark Report, a survey to gauge the emotional connection between fans and teams, they were named the second most popular national team in the country, pipped to top spot by the gold-medal winning women’s rugby sevens side, the Pearls.
The players themselves reckon the reason for this rapid rise in the world rankings to number six and soaring popularity in Australia is a unique rapport within the group, and a joyful attitude to the sport, which is expressed in their playing style.
“There’s a really strong bond there. It’s a family,” says Ellie Carpenter, the Matildas’ exciting 19-year-old fullback.
“Whenever we get together as a squad we also like to spend our downtime together, just hanging out and relaxing.”
Those family-like ties could be what gives the Australians an edge as they attempt to negotiate their way through the World Cup in France, which kicks off on June 7.
While coaches and selectors often talk about finding the right blend of youth and experience, this Matildas squad is chock full of players who can actually tick both boxes — a result of introducing emerging talents to the setup at a very young age and allowing them to grow into the shirt.
The average age of the squad, ranging from 16-year-old Mary Fowler to 34-year-old Lisa De Vanna, is under 26, but the average number of caps is an impressive 55.
There are 11 players with more than 70 caps, putting them well into veteran territory, and three with over 100 games in national colours.
Australia’s group-stage opponents will be Italy (June 9), Brazil (June 14) and Jamaica (June 19).
