SYDNEY -- The news headlines will speak of the ins and outs of Tuesday's Matildas Olympic squad announcement. Katrina Gorry was picked even though an ankle injury has kept her out since March, while Caitlin Foord has made the cut despite exiting Friday's 1-1 draw with China with a hamstring issue.
Head coach Tony Gustavsson believes the pair will be right to go when they are needed for July 25's opening game of the Olympics against Germany, even if they aren't fully fit now.
The likes of Lydia Williams and Charli Grant were among the unlucky ones who made Australia's World Cup squad but have been relegated to "alternate" status due to the small Olympic squad size of just 18 players.
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As each woman was called by name and handed her personalised novelty boarding pass to Paris, there was undeniable excitement and relief in the room as dreams were realised. The pride of onlooking family members was palpable. This was a happy day in what everyone in the room hopes will be a happy year; one that ends with silverware.
And while it won't be front of anyone's mind, there was a distinct feeling in the air at the squad announcement: One last time. The final countdown. A swan song. Whatever you want to call it, there is an undeniable feeling that a chapter in the history of the Matildas is drawing to a close and the Olympic squad marks one of the final key events along the way.
We know that moving forward the team will be without stalwart goalkeeper Williams. A look at the age profile of some of the other players suggests she won't be the lone retiree in this next period. The players themselves can feel this change in the air too.
"We have such a good group and I think we do deserve something to show for it as well," Foord said. "It almost feels like this is our kind of last opportunity with this group, with core players and stuff like that."
This much spoken about core group of Matildas is the great advantage of this team.
When these players are all fit and firing together, they are hard to stop and brilliant to watch. They have been allowed to cultivate these connections and relationships on the pitch through almost two decades of camps and games and tournaments. They know each other instinctively.
The other side of that coin though is that the Matildas are a hard team to break into. And as the team gets older, the search for the next player in continues. Anyone who wants to make it into the starting XI has to be better than the typically world class incumbent, not just in individual talent but in working with the players around her who have had years of experience together. It's a tough gig.
This generation has already achieved great things. It is the team responsible for the Matildas' best World Cup and Olympic finishes, with a pair of fourth places. But with no major tournament in 2025 for the Aussies, and a well-earned rest incoming because of it, Paris looms as this group's last chance to earn the only thing that's currently missing from their long list of achievements: a piece of silverware.
"We've come fourth a couple of times now. And it's kind of getting on our nerves a little bit," Hayley Raso joked at the announcement.
"We're all really wanting to achieve something and bring something back. So I think we've all got the same goal. We'll be obviously focusing on one game at a time, but we want to come away with something from this Olympics."
"We're so close to winning a medal. And now I guess it gets frustrating. We just want a medal when we're that close," Kyra Cooney-Cross added.
After the Tokyo Olympics, many of the players vowed that they didn't want to feel as they did after their loss to the United States in the bronze medal match. It's a feeling that only intensified after missing out to Sweden for third place at last year's World Cup. The Matildas have had their fill of almosts. They are all too familiar with the feeling of just missing out. They are ready to take the next step.
The group is full of belief that they can break through the fourth-place barrier. And Monday's 2-0 win over China was the strongest glimpse yet that perhaps Gustavsson had learned his lesson in order to guide the team to achieving that: as fit as a national team can be, a distinct lack of rotation will eventually catch up with you the deeper you go into a tournament. It was part of the team's undoing in both 2021 and 2023 with the players looking exhausted by the time they made it to the semifinals and bronze medal matches. These players are only human and the goal of six games in 17 days means every single player in the squad needs to be utilised.
A 45-minute glimpse of what a Clare Wheeler and Cooney-Cross midfield could look like was an encouraging sign. Kaitlyn Torpey being used as a full-back in the first match against China and a more attacking option in the second highlighted her versatility and potential across the park.
Even a more fluid front four, including a more mobile Michelle Heyman and Cortnee Vine deployed as the No. 9 -- with her exquisite through-ball for Raso's goal -- hinted that the attack at the Olympics could adapt to whatever circumstances lay ahead of the team.
However, while the Matildas say they have never been more ready, they have also arguably never faced a sterner test. There is a weight of expectation on this team now; few Australian national teams in any sport have reached the heights of last year that this squad did. The motivating force of past almosts, the inevitable march of time, the condensed Olympic schedule, a small squad, and group games against the might of the USWNT and Germany -- teams they have only beaten once each -- means a group-stage exit feels just as likely as a medal chance.
But if the Matildas want a medal as desperately as they say they do, then these are the obstacles they must finally overcome.