At the upcoming Olympics and 2023 Women's World Cup the Matildas know they're playing for more than just some silverware. They're setting the standard for future generations of Matildas, and they couldn't be more thrilled to have that honour.
Speaking exclusively to Wide World of Sports, Alanna Kennedy, Steph Catley and Lydia Williams shared insight into the barriers they've had to overcome to get where they are today.
"I think for all of us, being females in sport, we all grew up in an environment with challenges surrounding football," Kennedy said from Matildas camp overseas ahead of their Olympic campaign.
"For me it was playing with boys and always having to prove yourself there and feeling you had to work that extra bit harder to earn respect, but I think that's made me stronger.
"There's been a lot of things that have been discussed for many years now, the inequalities that you face as a female athlete, a lot of things we've had to deal with, but our passion and love for the sport is what gets us to where we are and hopefully things continue to change for us to be able to perform at our best without those external distractions."
Catley said the thing she laments is not having posters of female players on her bedroom wall growing up, and instead only being exposed to male football stars to look up to.
"One of the things growing up that was a barrier, was not having access to watch my role models, and women in sport on TV, someone that looked like me doing what I loved," she said.
"It was always just men on the TV. They were my role models and looking back I wish I had access to watching girls playing football, which young girls do now, which is amazing.
"We are really privileged and lucky to be role models for those girls coming through, but looking back I wish I had females on the TV that I could look to and aspire to as well as the men."
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For Williams, the limitations of living regionally and needing to move to a big city to pursue her sporting career was her biggest hurdle. Now, she's grateful that there are better options for young female footballers to follow their dreams.
"All of us have gone through different challenges. It's nice seeing there's a pathway for girls to be professional at a younger age and turn it into a career," she said.
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Kennedy said the huge improvement in exposure for women's sport in recent years, particularly football and the Matildas, has been encouraging to see as a player, and they do not underestimate their influence on the next crop of female Aussie sport stars.
"That's something the Matildas have really embraced," she said.
"We've seen small and big crowds and we are super grateful for that. We know how important it is for the younger generation to have a moment with their role models because we didn't necessarily have that when we were younger."
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The Matildas are finalising their preparations for the Olympics, with one more friendly against Japan on July 14, before taking on New Zealand in their first match in Tokyo on July 21.
It hasn't been the best of lead-ups to the Games however, with COVID-19 keeping the team separate for a long period of time, making the job of new manager Tony Gustavsson even tougher.
Since taking the reins as Matildas coach, Gustavsson has endured heavy defeats in friendlies to Germany (5-2) and the Netherlands (5-0) in April, and a narrow loss to Denmark (3-2) and a 0-0 draw with Sweden in June.
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The Matildas are not panicking though and are confident they are turning a corner under Gustavsson, especially after their last two matches.
"I think it's a different dynamic. He's taken a lot of responsibility onto us. We have to be pretty independent. Like right now we get a pretty relaxed transition camp where we work really hard but have a lot of downtime to chill," Williams said of Gustavsson's approach.
"It's definitely different philosophies and coaching methods, but I think change is good and we're starting to adapt more and more to his style, so it's really positive.
"COVID has made it really difficult for us so we're really realistic with our expectations and where we are and the positivity amongst the group is great and I think we're moving forward in the right direction and setting up a nice little platform leading towards the Olympics.
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"Considering we've had some pretty rough results over the last month or two I think the team has reacted really well. There's a really positive vibe amongst the team and everyone is quite refreshed and happy to be here after a long time away from camp and each other.
"Everyone was excited to come in, put our heads down and work hard and work towards something we think we can achieve."
Yesterday captain Sam Kerr was named in the 18-woman squad headed to the Tokyo Games, that also features six debutants and 12 returning after appearing at the Rio Olympics.
Despite an injury scare to Kerr in the friendly against Sweden, Wide World of Sports is told their skipper is "doing great" in camp, and the team are looking forward to the challenge ahead in a tough group that includes Sweden, New Zealand and reigning World Cup champions, USA.
The Matildas spoke to Wide World of Sports on behalf of the CADBURY Women in Sport initiative which is uniting four sporting codes to support the continued growth and equality of women's sports in Australia.
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