A Germany side regarded as one of the favourites to land the Women's World Cup get their campaign under way against Morocco on Monday, with Italy and Argentina meeting in a clash for the early birds, while Brazil and Panama meet in the final fixture of the day.
Italy kick off at their tournament against Argentina at Eden Park and coach Melina Bertolini wants to harness the momentum of their remarkable 2019 campaign.
Italy had not qualified for the tournament in two decades when they made the cut in 2019 and reached the quarter-finals under Bertolini to match their best performance in the tournament from the 1991 inaugural year.
Another strong showing at the competition this year would pay long-term dividends for the women's programme in Italy, she told reporters on Sunday.
"This World Cup is important - just as the previous one - because it does continue the growth process. We have qualified for two World Cups in a row and I think this is extraordinarily important for the growth in Italy," Bertolini said.
"Our movement keeps growing (but) it's a very young movement, it’s still fragile."
A poor showing at Euro 2022, where they finished bottom in their group, and a handful of uninspiring results leading up to the World Cup leave plenty of reason for pessimism.
World Cup debutantes Morocco held Italy to a scoreless draw at a friendly this month, and in their final pre-tournament friendly Italy eked out only a 1-0 win against co-hosts New Zealand, who have never made it out of the group stage.
Argentina may have never won a match at the World Cup but they claimed third-place finishes at the 2022 and 2018 Copa America Femenina, and Bertolini said she expects a tough challenge.
"It's gong to be a difficult match against a team that is hard to play," said Bertolini. "We know that once you're on the pitch it’s the emotion that takes over so we have to start from doing simple things."
Morocco captain Ghizlane Chebbak says they are not here to make up the numbers and are ready to shoulder the responsibility of being the first Arab country to take part as they prepare to make their debut on Monday.
Morocco, who will kick off their campaign against Germany, are one of eight sides making their debut in the expanded 32-team women's global showcase, but Chebbak says their aspirations stretch beyond being happy to be here.
"We are not here just to make up the numbers, but to compete," Chebbak said at a press conference on Sunday.
The Atlas Lionesses secured their spot by finishing runners-up at the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations. Chebbak was named Player of the Tournament and was the joint top goalscorer.
"We are honoured to be the first Arab country to take part," she said.
"We feel that we have to shoulder a big responsibility to show a good image, and to show the achievements that the Moroccan football team has made in terms of progress by qualifying. This is a great milestone for us and we hope that our match with Germany tomorrow will pave the way for other matches."
Morocco could not have a much tougher opponent than second-ranked Germany, who were the first team to win back-to-back World Cups in 2003 and 2007. Die Nationalelf have lost only one of their 24 group-stage matches at the tournament.
Morocco coach Reynald Pedros said his squad - ranked a whopping 70 places below Germany - are looking forward to the challenge.
"They all know they're here at the World Cup," Pedros said. "They all know it's going to be their first game... But the message for them is that it is something that is extremely positive; it's going to give us so much experience."
Nouhaila Benzina will also become the first player to wear a hijab at a senior women's tournament. The wearing of head covers for religious purposes was first authorised by FIFA in 2014.
While Germany will be on a mission to make up for losing to England in last year's European Championship final, coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg warned that it will not be easy; the women's game has never been more competitive.
"All the games are tight, women's football teams have come ever closer," she said. "All the countries coming here are not only proud to be at the World Cup, but they absolutely have the quality to play here and to pose problems."
Germany could be missing key players Marina Hegering and Lena Oberdorf, who are both injury doubts.
Brazil must not take anything for granted if they harbour any hopes of reaching the final, coach Pia Sundhage has said.
Brazil are South American heavyweights, with eight Copa America Femenina titles but that has not yet translated to success in the World Cup, where their best finish was as runners-up in 2007.
They began the year with losses to Japan, Canada and the United States but arrive in Australia with victories over Germany and Chile.
"We're really happy with the last two results because we gained a lot of confidence. We can just look at each other and we know it's a little different from a year ago," Sundhage told reporters.
"The most important thing is we don't take anything for granted and please enjoy the game ... If we put together a beautiful attack and very solid defending, then we have a chance to play many games, all the way to the final, actually.
"We're in a special team and I think the keyword is 'juntas' (together). There's a lot of energy in the room and it's contagious. We have some young and old players, like Marta - that mix will help us win the next game."
Marta could become the first player - man or woman - to score in six World Cups after Canada's Christine Sinclair lost out on the honour when her penalty against Nigeria was saved.
Panama are making their World Cup debut and when Sundhage was asked if she had watched them play, she said: "We know everything about Panama. I've been watching, the assistant coach has been watching so many games.
"We tried to figure out from last seven to eight games what kind of starting line-up they will come up with and how they're going to play ... We are prepared for sure, regardless of the formation they play."
