Australia head coach Tony Gustavsson has his sights set on a Sydney victory over the Republic of Ireland to set the tone for their World Cup.
The Aussies, co-hosting the tournament with New Zealand, face Ireland, Canada and Nigeria in a tough Group, opening their campaign against the Girls in Green on Thursday 20 July.
It's a mouthwatering fixture, and Gustavsson admitted the Matildas will be aiming to lay down a marker on home soil.
"It's all about the opening game - we want to start the tournament as strong as possible," Gustavsson said.
"We drew the top-ranked opponent in Pot 2 [Canada], the third-ranked opponent in Pot 3 [Ireland] and the top-ranked opponent in Pot 4 [Nigeria].
"I'm really excited, I've been texting with my coaching staff and my analysts already saying, hey, let's start planning, preparing. We really want to get on it now we know who we're facing and we know what the opening game looks like."
Gustavsson is Swedish, and no doubt would have been watching on when Ireland nicked a 1-1 draw against his native country in Gothenburg last April. He was at the helm when Pauw's team beat Australia 3-2 in a friendly at Tallaght Stadium 13 months ago, criticising his team's lack of desire in the aftermath.
Australia play the world No 2-ranked Swedes in Melbourne next month. That will be an interesting gauge of where his team are right now, with the Aussies harbouring ambitions of going deep into the knockout stages.
"If you look at what we've done over the last two years, we've targeted a lot of European teams because the statistics from way back are not too positive for us against European teams," Gustavsson added.
"If we look at our side of the bracket [tournament path beyond the group stages], we have England, Germany and France so the game against Sweden will play a major role in that sense as well.
"Being on home soil together with the fans in a crossroads moment like this in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I feel so privileged to be a small part of something much bigger than just 90-minutes of football.
"I say to the people out there, buy tickets now, because there are going to be packed out stadiums, everyone is going to be there. It's going to be a moment that you want to talk about a decade from now, to your grandchildren, saying, 'I was there'.
"With the high-octane high pressing, attacking-minded football we play, if we can get carried and supported by the fans the way I know we can, that's going to be very, very, very interesting."
GROUP B FIXTURES
Republic of Ireland v Australia, Sydney, Thursday 20 July
Republic of Ireland v Canada, Perth, Wednesday 26 July
Republic of Ireland v Nigeria, Brisbane, Monday 31 July
