Almost a year on from the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, the Matildas remain the hottest ticket in Australian sport.
The 'Tillies' tidal wave has crashed through the Australian cultural landscape and in its wake, women's football is flourishing like never before.
But for some of Australia's "other" national women's football teams, breaking new ground is proving anything but straightforward.
On June 3, the Australian Deaf women's football team took on the USA in Denver, Colorado.
Lit by a sparkling early summer sun, it was the first time an official Deaf football match had been broadcast on American television.
Unfortunately, it didn't end well for the Australians.
They conceded 11 unanswered goals to a rampant US team who, in addition to their four Deaflympic titles and three Deaf world championships, have only ever lost one game.
But for Justeen Kruger, who plays in goal for the Australian team, merely making it to Colorado was a win in itself.
In Australia, Deaf football struggles for funding. So, despite her team receiving some assistance from the US Soccer Federation, Kruger's passage to the "Land of the Free" was anything but.
"If I wasn't playing on the weekend, I was either working, getting another shift or out selling raffle tickets," Kruger said.
This is also a landmark year for the Australian women's blind football team.
Come December, they will be touching down in Japan for what will be their first-ever international tour.
Bess Hepworth is the coach of the squad. Her team received a grant from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for their upcoming trip, but funding is also an issue for her sport.
With the squad spread across the country and only able to meet a few times a year, her training sessions are largely confined to group chats and video recordings.
"We've got a WhatsApp group with every athlete and official where the players upload videos of their weekly training sessions and the coaches give them feedback," Hepworth said.
All athletes begin with the same training schedule before it is tweaked to meet an individual's particular needs.
"One of our athletes had her wisdom teeth out but still wanted to play. So, we devised training sessions she could do while she was laying down on the couch," Hepworth said.
"We just don't want distance and lack of opportunity to come together to be a barrier for our players."
A legacy to be leveraged
The 2023 World Cup was a watershed moment for not only women's football in Australia but also accessibility and disability awareness.
In a first for football in this country, Audio Descriptive Commentary (ADC) was available at some live games during the tournament.
ADC allows for people with blindness and low vision to follow a game more easily by painting a detailed verbal image of what's happening on the field.
Shianne Durdin, 14, is the youngest member of the blind squad. She says that the availability of ADC at last year's tournament allowed her to engage with the sport in a way she had never previously been able to.
"As I was listening to the audio description, I thought, there's so much that I missed out on not having this," she said.
"I was finally able to understand the fast pace of the game. I was like, 'whoa, this is how it is.'"
While there had been women involved in the men's national set-up for years prior, the women's team only officially kicked off in 2023, with training camps held either side of the Women's World Cup.
"We were really motivated to officially launch off the back of the World Cup," coach Hepworth said.
"It was a really exciting time to leverage the concept of the legacy of football in this country."
A part of that legacy will undoubtedly be Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, who last year detailed her use of her hearing aids.
However, Kruger says that, while deafness in football is "more out there," Arnold's announcement risks becoming entirely symbolic without increased support from Football Australia.
"There has been such a massive rise in women's football registration since the World Cup. You have to think, well, there's deaf footballers in those statistics," she said.
"There are a lot of pushes in football at the moment. But not so much for the Deaf community."
Sensing football
Communication is key to any team sport. And in blind football, it's especially important.
Just ask Adeline Roe, who, at 16, is part of the blind team's generation next.
"We've had a couple people get hurt due to miscommunication. So, it's a bit dangerous. Lots of bumping heads," she said.
Like other blind sports, the ball used in blind football contains an audible bell, and there are "kickboards" running up either side of the field that it can ricochet off and remain in play.
That way, the ball keeps moving and the bell keeps ringing.
Each team also has a sighted "goal guide", who, from outside the field of play, directs players where and when to shoot.
Fourteen-year-old Durdin says that the constant back and forth required on the blind football field has helped her maintain focus in other aspects of her life.
"You have to be aware of your surroundings constantly," she said.
"It's improved my ability to listen to everything — even things that are happening in class."
Deaf football, on the other hand, utilises an entirely different skillset.
"You have to use all your other senses," Kruger said.
"You have to do the shoulder checks. You have to know where your players are just by scanning the field."
Analogous to the blindfolds used in blind football, Deaf football players must remove all hearing aids they would otherwise use.
This allows for a level playing field for all athletes — who all must have a hearing loss minimum of 55 decibels in their better ear, which is classified as a "moderately severe" degree of hearing loss.
The game is played with rules identical to those of mainstream football, with the addition of some visual aids, such as a flag that is raised by the referee upon the blowing of their whistle.
"With regular football, you get the opportunity to say, 'hey make that run', or 'pass out wide'," Kruger said.
"You can't do that in Deaf football. You have to be at least two steps ahead, all of the time."
Generation next
While its sighted sibling may be the most popular sport on earth, blind football is a relative newcomer to the international stage, and the women's game even newer.
Men's blind football made its Paralympic debut in 2004, however, a women's tournament is still yet to feature at the Games.
But with a first-ever women's world championships having taken place in 2023, there is hope the women's game will be added to the Paralympic program in time for Los Angeles 2028.
And with a squad bursting with young talent, the Australian team are in a prime position to build towards LA, and beyond that, a home Paralympics in Brisbane in 2032.
At 23 years old, Ingrid McKenna is a veteran of the blind team. Having also represented Australia in blind cricket, she is no stranger to international competition.
She believes that December's trip to Japan, who finished second at last year's championships, could be vital to transforming her young team into Paralympic contenders.
"Japan have had their program up and running for quite a while now. Hopefully, we'll be able to learn a lot from them, because they are so talented in the sport," McKenna said.
Coach Hepworth, too, sees the tour as a massive step forward for her team.
"There's no better country to learn from and to demonstrate to our players the level they need to get to," Hepworth said.
"We are training for the tour like it's our Paralympic final."
A positive impact
For both sports, the impact of increased support would be felt on and off the field.
As well as kits, flags and balls, Kruger says that funding could bring deaf football to communities and people who currently don't have access to the sport.
"We could help younger people get to camps. Even if they're not eligible now, we can grow them as players, so they're always playing football and will always have a friend in life," she said.
"Even if it's just a couple of flags for hard of hearing or deaf kids — we need that funding."
Funding will also have a large say in the future of blind football.
And with a Paralympic pathway almost certain to emerge in time for Brisbane 2032, increased support looms tantalisingly on the horizon.
But for now, Hepworth's WhatsApp training sessions will continue to be the backbone of her team's preparation for December's trip to Japan.
While that mightn't be ideal for a team dreaming of international glory, 14-year-old Shianne Durdin is just excited to be getting her chance on the field.
"I just feel really grateful to be given the same opportunity that sighted people would be given," Durdin said.
"I can't wait to see where it goes — where it takes me."