Ferguson-Cook said what sets this crop of Matildas apart is the arsenal of attacking options available, with this perhaps being the X-factor they need to win the WWC.

“Our depth of attacking options for this group of players is something that I haven’t seen in the Matildas for a long time,” she said.

“Historically, we’ve always been very strong defensively, relied on the physical side of the game more so than the tactical or the technical, but if you just look at all our attacking options in this team - it just constantly excites me.

“I mean, we’ve got Sam Kerr, one of the best strikers in the world playing for us. She may have been a bit quiet in the first game, some people were a bit critical of her, but then she turns up with four goals, a thank you very much and a suck on that one!”

On her thoughts on Kerr’s controversial catchphrase, Ferguson-Cook said it was all in good fun.

“Personally, I thought it was great. It was a very Australian thing to do, it was a spur of the moment, she was having a bit of a giggle about it and I still have a bit of a chuckle when I see everyone walking around with their 'Suck on that one' shirts."

As for the upcoming Round of 16 matches against Norway, Ferguson-Cook echoes the thoughts of many fans, punters and coaching staff alike.

“If we want to keep winning, we need to tighten up defensively, and we know that – Ante has been very honest about saying in our transition, where we’re losing the ball, where we’re turning over possession and we need to sort that out against Norway,” she said.

“The good thing is, I think we are very similar teams in the physicality of it and if we sort those things out, don’t try and press so much and allow Norway to play a little bit, we can win the ball back in more important areas.

“I’m confident if we keep it tight at the back, then we’re going to have plenty of options going forward and attacking-wise.

“I think it was great for Sam to score four goals against Jamaica, but we need to start creating more clear-cut chances and be more clinical with our final pass in the final third. We’re not too far off and under pressure – this is the perfect game for the sum of all parts to come together and work really well – and it has to because we have to win.