It's two days out from the big kick-off and the mind games have begun.
Last Friday night Tony Gustavsson's Matildas looked ominously impressive, delivering a powerful display of speed and technical ability to beat France 1-0.
They are capable of overpowering teams in every part of the pitch, but the Aussies seem reluctant to embrace the 'physical’ tag. They’re happy to lump that one on Republic of Ireland.
The back page of Tuesday’s Sydney Morning Herald set the tone ahead of Thursday’s World Cup group opener at the Accor Stadium.
‘Rough And Ready’ reads the headline over a picture of Sam Kerr and Co in training, with the accompanying subhead: "The Matildas have vowed to fight fire with fire when they come against a ‘very tough-playing’ Republic of Ireland side known for its physicality in their World Cup opener on Thursday."
Ireland walked off the pitch due to concerns about Colombia’s robust approach five days ago, but Australia aren’t buying any suggestions that they don’t like it up ‘em.
Matildas defenders Alanna and Clare Hunt had faced the press the previous day and neither were in any way critical of Ireland, the former praising "world-class" pair Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan while lamenting the circumstances around that ill-fated Colombia game.
"It’s terrible a game has to be abandoned for that reason," she said.
Manchester City centre-half Kennedy offered support for O’Sullivan, who is still recovering from a shin injury sustained in the abandoned behind-closed-doors match, saying: "I hope she’s okay because you don’t want to see anyone injured at the moment, especially right before the start of the World Cup."
And the "very tough-playing" quote referenced on the Herald’s back page is actually from Vera Pauw, who used those words last Saturday when refuting any suggestion her side overreacted against the Colombians. The full quote was: "We are a very tough-playing team. We always challenge within the rules of the game. This [challenge on O’Sullivan] was out of the rules of the game."
Nonetheless, there’s an expectation in some Aussie quarters that the Girls in Green are going to try and throw their weight around, with the Sydney Morning Herald’s inside lead page headline using another Hunt quote to underline the point: "'They’ve always had it and always will’: Matildas prepared for Irish physicality".
Meanwhile in The Australian, Tilly Werner writes that the co-hosts "have been given just an 8% chance of winning the FIFA World Cup, a number sure to add even more fire to the belly of the Australian squad".
That precise prediction comes from data and analytics firm Nielsen, who tell us the USA will win the World Cup for the third time in a row based on approximately one million simulations of the tournament.
Alas, the stats give Ireland no chance of going all the way, though Nielsen do calculate Pauw’s team have a 22% likelihood of making it out of the group.
In The Courier-Mail, former Blackburn Rovers, West Ham and Southampton midfielder Robbie Slater makes a few tournament predictions. The 44-times capped Australia international expects big things from Mary Fowler, the daughter of a Dubliner.
"The immensely talented attacker is set to defy her lack of game time for Manchester City to announce herself on the world stage," he writes. Slater also tips Australia to win the World Cup and Sam Kerr to take the Golden Boot.
Defender Elise Kellond Knight, who misses out on the tournament because of an unfortunate Achilles injury, thinks Australia will finish third, with Germany lifting the trophy, while her compatriot Grace Gill says: "If the Matildas don't win, they will bow out in the quarter-finals to France."
Online, the website for 7+, a video on demand TV service, has lots of wholesome World Cup content with the Australian players and management team.
Gustavsson reveals he’s been reading leadership and coaching books for inspiration.
"One that’s top of my mind right now is Tord Grip, who was the assistant to Sven Goran Eriksson for years… he has roots in the same small town where my dad grew up," says the Swede.
"He was my mentor for the first eight to ten years of my coaching and then he became a very, very good friend of mine.
"His tactical knowledge, his leadership, but most of all his human values of staying grounded even though he’s won title after title."
Ireland arrive in Sydney on Wednesday, when the talk of physicality is likely to rumble on. Australia are braced for a battle.
