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It has been almost exactly a year since the Matildas' remarkable run to the semi-final of their home World Cup: a run that created history on and off the pitch and brought a country largely uninterested in women's football along for the ride.
But despite their impact, and the legacy they created in the hearts and minds of millions, the players left that tournament feeling they were missing something.
For Caitlin Foord, all she could show for her team's mad dash to the final four was a black eye and a bandage around her head.
"I know it's been incredible what we've done, but to not have something to show for it hurts the most for us," she said following Australia's third-place play-off loss to Sweden.
"We deserved to get something out of this tournament, and I know we have, but for us personally, to not have something around our necks is very disappointing.
"We owe it to the fans, to thank them. It's hard; it hurts to be here and get so close and to fall short again.
"We did the exact same thing at the [Tokyo] Olympics, and that was my worst nightmare for that to happen again, but it has. So we just need to grow and learn from it and never let this happen again."
After two fourth-placed finishes at their last two major tournaments, the Matildas are now impatient to win their first ever medal, to have something tangible in their hands that proves just how far they've come.
The upcoming Paris Olympics, which kicks off with the football tournament this week, is the last chance that some in the current squad will have to do just that.
With rumbles that women's football at the Olympics could transition to an under-23 competition in the next few editions, there is more urgency than ever for senior teams.
So what exactly does Australia need to do in order to get there? What needs to change from their last two major tournaments for them to take onto a podium?
A lot of the Matildas' potential to go far in this year's Olympics will be glimpsed by how they negotiate their tricky group stage, with two former world champions in Germany and the USA, and a rising African superpower in Zambia, posing different questions and challenges that Australia will have to find answers to.
1. Rotate the squad
One of the most glaring similarities between the Matildas' campaigns at the Olympics in 2021 and at the World Cup in 2023 is what the squad looked like once they reached the final knock-out stages.
By the time the Matildas qualified for their two respective semi-finals, the starting team that had played most of the tournament looked exhausted.
Against Sweden in Tokyo, and England in Sydney, Australia's key players had already run themselves into the ground. Their energy levels were noticeably lower, they weren't as quick or as physical, and their decision-making and technical qualities were lagging.
With the quick turn-over between games, those who were regularly on the field for 90+ minutes had little time to recover before they had to back up and play against yet another world class team, with increasing pressure on their shoulders the deeper they went. It was little surprise they looked so physically and mentally spent by the end.
So what could have potentially mitigated this? Greater squad rotation and player load management throughout the group stage, where there is more of a buffer for failure, is one solution to keeping key players more prepared for the do-or-die games that occur towards the pointy-end of these tournaments.
Rotation is particularly important in the Olympics, where squad sizes are smaller (18 players instead of a World Cup's 23) and games are, in the case of Australia's schedule, just three days apart, meaning there is greater emphasis on using every player available to alleviate overloading, burnout, and possible tournament-ending injuries.
And while the Matildas did shuffle their starting side during the World Cup, it was done entirely out of necessity, with injuries or illness forcing the hand of head coach Tony Gustavsson to dig into his bench to find alternatives. Whether that would have happened had all the players been fit is another question.
Because, frustratingly, the opposite can also be true. As Gustavsson has regularly cited, historical data shows that teams that go furthest in major tournaments tend to be those that stick with the same starting XI. England's success at the 2022 Women's European Championships, for example, was achieved without making a single change to their starting squad, with even the same substitutes introduced around the same times in every game.
Luck, of course, played an enormous role there, with the chosen players not sustaining any injuries that sidelined them, while their rest and recovery processes were such that the consistent starting side was still full of energy by the time they faced Germany in the final.
But given Australia's own trend of lacking the energy needed to win their biggest games, it is perhaps even more important that Gustavsson trusts his bench more, giving more minutes to all the players he's selected and allowing them to help their team-mates in a more significant way than moral support from the sidelines.
2. Adapt the system
Of course, player rotation will necessarily work in tandem with the systems and structures that the Matildas deploy over the course of the group stage.
While there are some teams in world football whose dominance springs from their adherence to a single system or style of play, such as Spain, Japan, and Brazil, others have become successful because of their ability to shapeshift their structure to best neutralise and counteract their opposition.
One of the Matildas' greatest advancements under Gustavsson has been their ability to shift their system, both in between games to suit different opponents, as well as during games that may not be going their way.
In the past, the team had a tendency to become stuck within a structure that was comfortable, particularly a 4-3-3 deployed with a transitional, counter-attacking style. And while that suited the Matildas in many ways, with speed on the counter one of their most powerful characteristics, faced against smarter or defensively compact opponents, the team tended to run out of ideas quickly.
However, the past three years has seen the team slowly develop their individual and collective abilities to flow between structures, reacting to in-game scenarios and dynamics, as well as setting up for different types of opposition teams.
Since the start of 2023, we've seen the Matildas set up and operate in many different formations. During the Cup of Nations tournament, for example, they embraced a 4-2-3-1 starting structure, which ebbed and flowed depending on whether they were defending (4-5-1) or attacking (4-1-2-3).
Come the World Cup, with the last-minute injury to Sam Kerr taking her out of the point of that formation, the team transitioned into a more traditional 4-4-2.
At the start of the tournament, Caitlin Foord and Mary Fowler occupied the central attacking positions, with Cortnee Vine and Hayley Raso racing down either wing. But the introduction of Emily Van Egmond saw the system shift slightly, with Fowler given more freedom to roam, Foord shuffled wider, and a more transitional style embraced.
This slight tweak was particularly useful the further they progressed, starting with their round of 16 win against Denmark, where the Matildas were forced to play with less possession than they had in their previous two games, but where that more direct counter-attacking structure resulted in both of their goals.
That system stayed consistent into the France game, but was neutralised by France's higher speed in defence and more dominant midfield, with both teams almost cancelling each other out and leading to the penalty shoot-out.
Oddly enough, it was the reintroduction of Kerr at the start of the semi-final against England that appeared to throw the team off-kilter slightly, with the striker's different individual speed and style warping the structure the team had become used to. It was the same for the third-placed loss to Sweden.
Gustavsson has been increasingly experimenting with different systems that utilise the different skills of his players, with the two-game friendly series against China in June and last week's Canada friendly seeing the team cycle through at least "three or four different shapes".
All of this is to say that Australia's structural versatility, which they've developed over the past few years, will be crucial as they face three very different opponents in Germany, Zambia, and the USA.
These are teams that vary in terms of their own structural strengths: from a German team that's especially physical and dominates possession, a Zambia side which relies on deep defending and transitional counter-attacks, and a USA side that uses their athleticism to stretch games and pull apart opponents at speed.
It will also be an indication of whether they're capable of shapeshifting against tougher opponents in the knock-out stages, where a slow drop in energy could potentially be balanced out by a more effective structure.
How they negotiate their three group-stage teams, and the ways in which they adapt to those opponents both before and during games, will be one of the strongest signs that the Matildas are capable of going far this Olympics.
3. Find goals without Sam Kerr
Enough time has passed now for Aussies to see and appreciate that the Matildas are more than just Sam Kerr.
In fact, Kerr's calf injury on the eve of the World Cup was a gift in disguise in this sense, with a number of other players stepping out from beneath her long shadow and taking the team the furthest they'd ever gone in that tournament.
But there's no ignoring the huge impact that Kerr has had in past Olympic campaigns, and the question of whether Gustavsson has found the best possible replacement(s) for the injured striker is still up in the air.
A macro-look at the Matildas' results over the past two years shows just how big a role Kerr has played in the team. Of the 37 games they've played since January 2022, Kerr has missed 12 of them. In the games where she hasn't played, Australia has won just half: six wins, four losses, and two draws, with 32 goals scored in total.
While five of those wins were decided by more than a goal, just one of those nations — Canada (4-0) — are in the global top 10, while the other four came against Uzbekistan (3-0, 10-0), Mexico (2-0) and China (2-0).
By contrast, of the 25 games Kerr did play, Australia won 76 per cent per cent of them (19), with 14 of those decided by more than a goal (including against top-10 teams Sweden and England). The team scored 72 goals in total over that period, with Kerr responsible for 20 of them herself.
All of which is to say that Kerr, in addition to her goal-scoring, has played a key part in Australia's ability to find the back of the net with her movement, speed, pressing, and passing ability setting up her team-mates in front of goal.
So what will Australia do this time around without her?
The only traditional striker called into the Paris Olympics is 35-year-old Michelle Heyman, a vastly different type of player to Kerr. The Canberra United legend is a more classic centre-forward: a tall tower of a striker who plays regularly with her back to goal, hovers in and around the box hunting for tap-ins, and dominates in the air from set pieces.
But she does not have the speed or positional versatility of Kerr that stretches opposition defences and interweaves with her team-mates, nor the track record of scoring goals at major tournaments, with her last ones for Australia coming against Zimbabwe in Rio, 2016.
While Heyman impressed in the two-game Olympic qualifiers against Uzbekistan, she has struggled against tougher and more structured opponents, particularly in the friendlies against Mexico, China, and Canada. How will she fare against some of the best centre-backs in international football?
Luckily, Heyman isn't the be-all-and-end-all for the Matildas' goal-scoring chances. The past two years have seen both Caitlin Foord and Hayley Raso step up in a significant way, with Foord scoring 15 goals since the start of 2022 while Raso has scored 12 in the same period: the team's top scorers aside from Kerr.
In addition, the inclusion of quick young wingers Cortnee Vine and Sharn Frier (who scored against Canada last week), as well as the versatile Kaitlyn Torpey, provides fresher legs in the same fast-paced style as what the Matildas have become known for.
But Mary Fowler continues hunting for her best position within the Matildas' shapeshifting structure, with the most recent friendly against Canada seeing her play as a false nine, a wide midfielder, and even a winger at times, though none of them brilliantly.
While Gustavsson has not quite found Fowler's perfect position, she has been pivotal in some of Australia's biggest wins, especially during the World Cup last year. With Kerr herself describing Fowler as the most gifted finisher in the team, the 20-year-old will always pose a threat no matter who they come up against.
4. Shut down the superstars
While the Matildas have opted for an "attack is the best form of defence" in Olympic campaigns past, there will be a particular need for good old-fashioned defending this time around given the types of teams and players Australia will be up against in their group.
Indeed, with just 12 teams in the tournament, Olympic football is far more precarious than World Cups, with goal difference often the deciding factor between a team qualifying for the knock-outs or being bundled out at the group stage.
But recent history suggests that Australia are in a more solid position defensively than they have been leading into past Olympic tournaments. They've kept 19 clean sheets since the start of 2022, and have conceded just one goal six times.
The combination of Alanna Kennedy and Clare Hunt as the Matildas' first-choice centre-back pairing has been key in this, with the duo conceding just seven goals in the 20 games they've played together since Hunt's debut in February of last year (while Australia have conceded 12 in the five games where one of them is missing).
Flanked on either side by Steph Catley and Ellie Carpenter, the team's first-choice full-backs, this defensive four will be up against some of the best wingers and forwards in world football including Alexandra Popp, Lea Schuller, and Klara Buhl (Germany), Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji (Zambia), and Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Mallory Swanson (USA).
The middle of the field will be a particularly exciting battle, with Australia's starting midfield of Katrina Gorry, Kyra Cooney-Cross, and Mary Fowler needing to get the better of players such as Jule Brand and Sydney Lohmann (Germany), Grace Chanda, Mary Wilombe and Avell Chitundu (Zambia), and Rose Lavelle and Lindsay Horan (USA).
And at the other end of the field, the Matildas' attackers will have to overcome some of the game's best defenders such as Giulia Gwinn, Kathrin Hendrich and Sara Doorsoun (Germany), Lushomo Mweemba and Martha Tembo (Zembia), and Emily Fox, Naomi Girma, and Emily Sonnett (USA) before trying to crack past goalkeepers in Merle Frohms, Catherine Musonda, and Alyssa Naeher.
How Australia navigate these individual battles and manage their collective game plan will be the most telling sign of a mature, tournament-ready team that is capable of going further than they ever have before.
Where they finish in their group will not only determine how capable they are of going deeper, but it will shape who they face next.
Top their group (B) and they'll face the third-placed team from Group C, which could be any one of Japan, Nigeria, or Brazil. Finish second and they'll face the runner-up of Group A, which could be France, Colombia, or Canada. Finish third, and they'll face the winner of Group A, which could be one of those teams, or possibly reigning world champions Spain, as well.
Six games may not seem like a lot between the start of this quest for a medal and ending it with one around their necks, but if any team in this tournament is capable of rising to the occasion, outperforming their global ranking and taking it to the best in the world, as the past few competitions have shown, it's the Matildas.
"We just need to be at our best every single game and every moment," Foord said in the tunnel of Stadium Australia a year ago.
"And hopefully some luck falls our way, as well. But I guess you do create your own luck, and that will happen for us moving forward. We will win something.
"We need to keep getting better. And I think that's what we're going to do.
"Like I said, we want to do something special, and I know we have, but for us, we haven't; we haven't won anything yet, and we want to win something. And until we do that, I don't think we'll be satisfied."