The Matildas have overcome the absence of captain Sam Kerr to defeat Ireland 1-0 in their first match of the FIFA Women's World Cup in Sydney on Thursday night.
The result gives Australia a great chance of qualifying for the next stage of the competition with games against Nigeria and Canada still to come.
Australia are ranked 10th in the world and can be expected to qualify in the top two of the group, while the US are favourites to win the competition, which is being hosted by Australia and New Zealand for the first time ever.
Ireland plays a strong second half, but fails to score
After a moment’s silence to honour the victims of the shooting attack in Auckland earlier that morning, the Matildas got off to a strong start, dominating possession throughout the first half.
The Matildas scored the match's only goal early in the second half, after a foul on Hayley Raso gave the Australian side a penalty.
Acting Matildas captain Steph Catley then drove a left-footed kick into the goal's left corner, to the delight of much of the Sydney crowd of 75,784.
Steph Catley scores the penalty for the Matildas against Ireland. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts
After a more reserved first half, Ireland came back with more force in the second, but were unable to convert several close chances into a goal.
Post-game analysis showed that Australia maintained a 46 per cent possession rate through the game. Ireland had possession 29 per cent of the time and the ball was in contest 25 per cent of the time.
Matildas forward is challenged by Ireland's Ruesha Littlejohn. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts
What did people say about the game?
Speaking to reporters after the match, Catley said the result was "hard to put into words".
"I think it’s been a long build-up to this game and there has obviously been a lot of anticipation, a lot of anxiety."
"There were moments we were working through that and it was a little bit sloppy and a little bit over-zealous, but in the end we got the result," she said.
Asked about the absence of captain and champion striker Kerr, Catley said: "It's massive. She's our spiritual leader. She's one of the best players, if not the best player, in the world ... Just not having her out there hurts us a lot, but I think we get a lot from what's happened to her. We get a lot of fighting spirit.
Matildas captain Sam Kerr (centre) missed the match through injury. Source: AAP / Mark Evans
She said that Ireland was "an extremely difficult team to play against, and we knew that coming in. When we got them in the first game, we were like, 'Okay, that's going to be a tough one from the get-go'".
What's next for the Matildas?
The side will now travel to Brisbane for their game against Nigeria, ranked 40th in the world, and then to Melbourne for their final group stage game against Canada.
They will also face Nigeria without Kerr. Only an hour before kick-off on Thursday, Football Australia announced that Kerr would be sitting the match out, due to a calf injury sustained on Wednesday.
Kerr will reportedly miss the first two games of the cup.
If the Matildas finish in the top two in this group, they could then face either England, Haiti, Denmark or China in the next round.
More than 75,000 fans were at the game. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts
Co-host New Zealand wins first-ever World Cup victory
Shortly before Australia's game against Ireland, New Zealand made history with their first-ever World Cup victory.
The Football Ferns beat Norway 1-0 in front of a record home crowd of 42,137 at Eden Park in Auckland.
A goal in the 47th minute by Hannah Wilkinson proved the difference.
