Five talking points on everyone's lips as World Cup approaches

With New Zealand set to kick-off the tournament at Eden Park looking for their first ever win at a World Cup against Norway, attention will then turn to Australia set to commence their journey for Cup glory when they host Ireland at Stadium Australia at 8pm.

The Matildas - ranked no. 13 in the world - have notched up some runs against powerhouses Spain, England and France in the lead-up to the tournament on home soil.

But will the pressure cooker be too much? Or can the Matildas actually win their first World Cup and become the first team to be successful on home soil since the USA in 1999?

Read more: Australia's Women's World Cup opponents at a glance

Here are the five main talking points on everyone's lips on the eve of the tournament.

It is probably the biggest question on everyone's lips as Tony Gustavsson's team prepares to take on the Irish.

The Swedish coach has built the talent pool to choose from since his appointment two years ago. Back then, the Matildas had a consistent starting 11, 12 and maybe 13 players that when fit, would feature irrespective of circumstance.

Now, the emergence of fringe players Clare Hunt, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Alex Chidiac and more has seen competition for places heat up, translating is solid performances and positive results.

The short answer is yes, they can actually win the Cup. But in tournaments, the main key is to not peak too early and similarly, to not panic should things go wrong. The perfect example of this recently was in the men's Cup in Qatar where eventual world champs Argentina lost their first match against Saudi Arabia.

Make no mistake, there are some tough teams coming down under for blood. The US are gunning for three in a row - a feat never before seen, Canada are reigning Olympic gold medallists, England are European champions and then there is Sweden, Germany, Spain and France who all expect to win.

Should the Matildas navigate their group, it could well be a clash with the old foe England in the round of 16. It is all dependant on where Australia finish in their group. On paper, it will come down to game three in Melbourne against Canada.

All going to play, the Matildas and Canada would have won their first two games against Ireland and Nigeria, leaving the final group match a decider on first and second. Options for the round of 16 game include China, Denmark, England and Haiti.

Making an educated guess, it would be England and Denmark who progress, however China have been a powerhouse in women's football and are the reigning Asian champions, so cannot be discredited. Haiti should be content to be at the tournament.

From there, it's anyone's guess, but should the Matildas still be there, expect every match from the quarters to be against a nation ranked higher than them.

In the words of former Matildas captain Julie Dolan... "it is a big ask".

So if not Australia, then who will it be?

The USA are confident heading into the tournament after winning the last two Cups. In the history of the Women's World Cup they have won four trophies and a fifth would see them go equal with the Brazil men's team as the most in history.

Canada will be confident, but aren't the side they were when they claimed Olympic gold in Tokyo.

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Germany may be the 'dark horse' heading into the tournament - despite being ranked no. 2 in the world. They have won the Cup twice (in 2003 and 2007) but have not been the same powerhouse since.

They went down in extra time in the Euro final against England in 2022 and in that performance, showed that they may be back to their best.

Germany would be my tip.

France, Brazil, England and Spain are either in a 'transitional' period in terms of personnel, have injuries or are going through turbulent times within their ranks, such as Spain - who were without 15 players for the Cup of Nations in Australia due to a run-in with the coach, who is still at the helm.

There has been a slight tactical switch for the Matildas that involves Warilla junior Caitlin Foord and her strike partner Sam Kerr.

It was seen in the flesh during the Matildas' 1-0 win against France. Foord will be inside, acting more as a 'number 10', essentially being the final pass into Kerr for the captain to deliver the goods.

In the past, Foord has been effective cutting inside from the left, but this tweak gets her closer to Kerr and makes it more difficult for opposition defences to mark them.

Julie Porter, Illawarra's own Matilda from the 1980s, believes Caitlin Foord will have an enormous impact for Australia.

"I expect Caitlin Foord will be an absolute standout," the woman who was the 20th Matilda capped said.

Read more: Infantino in no mood to discuss Matildas' equity claims

"She works so hard for everybody else and yet she's such a talent in her own. Caitlin's a player who could hit them from halfway and then she'll find Sam Kerr with pinpoint accuracy."

But will it actually work? Only time will, but to have two of the most technically gifted players right next to each other terrifying opposition defenders can't be adjudged as a bad move.

The pair showed against France just how effective the partnership can be, with Foord playing in a number of killer passes into Kerr to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

The Matildas will have a 'plan b' should it not eventuate as expected, but prepare for all out attack with Foord and Kerr at the forefront.

Traditionally known as a physical team in their own right, the Irish made the news last week following the decision to cancel their 'friendly' with Columbia behind closed doors in Brisbane due to complaints of over-aggression, which left key midfielder Denise O'Sullivan in hospital and still in doubt to face Australia.

Ireland's speciality is the 'dark arts' of football. Slowing down the play, winning the physical fight, and neglecting real football tactics in order to throw off their opponents to make up for their lack of technical ability is what that entails.

So following the match against Columbia, the Matildas should be weary of a fired up Ireland team.

The key for Australia will be to score early. Should the match be nil-all at half time and into the second half, the more likely it will be that Ireland can cause an upset in the first game and disappoint the majority of the 80,000 people in the stands in attendance.

How about these ads? Wow.

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France put together a spine tingling video about how the women's team are set to take on the world no longer in the shadow on the men's side.

Whilst the Americans released one quite a while back now showing their typical confidence on the world stage.

The Matildas had one of their own with the slogan 'till it's done'.

But when it is all said and done, the time for talk is over. We will soon see who the real deal are on the pitch for the next month.

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