Kyra Cooney-Cross has marked her 50th cap with a wonder goal, and Clare Hunt also scored her first international goal to secure the Matildas an unlikely 2-1 win over Germany in Duisburg.
The 26,000-strong crowd had come to pay an emotional farewell to legendary striker Alexandra Popp at the MSV Arena on Tuesday morning (AEDT) but ended up applauding a stunning intervention by Arsenal midfielder Cooney-Cross, who fired home a first-half equaliser from almost 40 metres out.
It was an astounding strike against the run of play six minutes before half-time after Selina Cerci's fifth-minute opener for the dominant hosts.
While Germany largely controlled the game, the Matildas remained resilient and struck back, with central defender Hunt heading home the winning goal from captain Steph Catley's corner in the 79th minute.
It earned Australia their first win against Germany in 19 years and only the second victory in their history over one of football's powerhouse nations.
The first international goals for the two London-based Matildas also conjured up a remarkable triumph for caretaker boss Tom Sermanni's side, who had been hammered by Germany 3-0 in Marseille during their Olympics campaign just three months ago.
The big win came after they had drawn 1-1 against Switzerland in another friendly on Friday.
