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This was a result that the majority would have anticipated.
Key points:
- The Matildas went through the inaugural Cup of Nations tournament undefeated
- England upset the reigning World Champions the USA to win the SheBelieves Cup
- The Women's World Cup takes place in France in June this year
The Matildas were overwhelming favourites to claim the inaugural Cup of Nations trophy, and did so with relative ease on Wednesday night, wrapping up the tournament with a 3-0 victory over a combative and willing Argentina side at AAMI Park.
But if Australia is to consider itself a challenger for the World Cup in France later this year, it should be comfortably beating those sides.
New Zealand (ranked 19th), South Korea (14th) and Argentina (36th) should have provided comfortable fodder for the sixth-ranked Matildas, even taking into account the turmoil that has embroiled the national set up in recent months.
And superficially at least, that was the case.
Over the course of the Cup of Nations, Australia conceded just one goal and scored nine in front of healthy crowds totalling around 25,000.
However, on the other side of the Pacific, England (ranked fourth), Japan (eighth), Brazil (10th) and the United States (first) were engaged in a tournament of their own — one that may have significantly greater bearing on the destination of the World Cup trophy come July.
With that kind of quality on display, Ante Milicic will have surely kept half an eye on the fortunes of those teams over the past week.
Phil Neville's Lionesses claimed a maiden SheBelieves Cup title by beating Brazil 2-1, Japan 3-0 and playing out a highly entertaining 2-2 draw with the reigning World Champions.
England topped the table after the US could only muster a 2-2 draw against 2015 runners up Japan, whom the English beat in Tampa a couple of hours before the Matildas took to the field half a world away in Melbourne.
England dominated that match, tearing apart a team they'll meet in the group stages in France and who knocked the English out of the 2015 edition of the Cup at the semi-final stage, putting itself right at the top of the list of teams to watch out for in France.
Australia's biggest challengers in the group stage will be Brazil, who failed to even win a point in America, serving to highlight the calibre of the opposition in the US-based tournament.
So, as harsh as it might sound, the Cup of Nations trophy will be nothing more than a sparkly gimmick should the Matildas not perform in France.
World Cup fast approaching
Time was never going to be on Milicic's side, and the new coach now has just one planned game, against the USA on April 5, ahead of the World Cup in which to fine tune his plans.
Is that enough?
On the evidence of this match, perhaps not.
Despite the lopsided score-line in Melbourne, the Matildas were genuinely threatened by Argentina in a way we hadn't seen in the previous matches.
Had the opposition attack been of a higher quality than that posed by the Albiceleste — who failed to score in three games on Australian soil — the story may well have been different.
The key difference lay in the physicality of the Argentine game — a rough-and-tumble competition that the Matildas appeared not to be ready for.
In the first half, Matildas players were sent ricocheting off opposition players like ping pong balls.
In the second half, Steph Cately collided with Argentina's Mariana Larroquette so hard that the pitch-side microphones picked up the sound of the wind being knocked out of each player's lungs and Hayley Raso took an age to get up after collecting a knee to the back — an understandable reaction given her very recent history.
It took some time for the home team to fight back, but when they did they gave as good as they got, creating a high-octane, combative stalemate throughout the second-half.
However, this end-to-end, high-intensity counter-attacking football shone a blinding spotlight on the holes in Australia's defence, particularly wide on the flanks, where the Matildas defenders were bested with relative ease.
If it weren't for Williams' flawless keeping and some fine covering defence from Catley, Australia could have been in a lot more trouble.
This was a second choice back four on display, and it showed, but in the Matildas defence, an early injury to Laura Alleway forced a reshuffle that clearly affected the dynamics at the back.
Although that explains the issues, it shouldn't fill fans with confidence, as one injury or suspension could clearly result in chaos in France.
Despite struggling at the back, the 3-0 win came about due to the hugely talented individuals Australia has at its disposal in the front third — one area in which Milicic has options to spare.
The deadly foursome of Sam Kerr, Hayley Raso, Caitlin Foord and Emily Gielnik were relentless up top, as was Lisa de Vanna, the forgotten player this W-League season, who has grasped her opportunity to impress her new coach with both hands.
That attacking threat should still be enough to strike fear into any opposition coach at the World Cup.
With three months until the Matildas kick a ball in anger in France, if some of the defensive issues can be ironed out on the training paddock, the Matildas and Milicic should be able to look ahead to the World Cup with some confidence.
Topics: sport, soccer, australia, vic, melbourne-3000