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The Young Matildas will be looking to complete the difficult task of making it out of Group A when they take on Spain in their final group match of the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup on Wednesday (AEST).
Australia have qualified for the quarter-finals twice since the tournament's inception in 2002, doing so in both its inaugural year and in 2004. The Young Matildas will be looking to repeat this success in 2022 with either a win against their European opponents or a draw dependant on the result of Brazil's final match against Costa Rica.
The side will be desperate to avoid the heartache of failing to reach the knock-out stage for the second time in their short history - their first being a narrow failure to reach the quarter-finals in 2006, where they finished third in their group despite salvaging one win, one draw and one loss.
Here is how the Young Matildas can reach the knock-out stage of the tournament for the first time in 18 years and avoid a repeat of their last appearance at an U20 Women's World Cup in 2006.
The story so far
Australia opened their first U20 Women's World Cup campaign in nearly two decades to tournament hosts Costa Rica on Thursday (AEST).
A cagey opening 15 minutes saw little in the way of scoring opportunities for either side, before Costa Rica captain Alexandra Pinell unleashed a 35-yard rocket into the top corner from a free-kick, which stunned the visitors and sent the San José crowd into raptures.
However, the Central Americans' lead was short-lived as Sydney FC's Sarah Hunter calmly slotted home from the penalty spot after a handball inside the final 10 minutes of the first half, which was swiftly followed by a tap-in from Western Sydney Wanderers' forward Bryleeh Henry only seconds later after capitalising on a defensive relapse from the hosts.
The Aussies appeared unfazed by the daunting atmosphere of Costa Rica's home crowd, adding a third to their tally in the 72nd minute when Newcastle Jets full-back Kirsty Fenton impressively towered over a cluster of defenders to head home on the goal line from a Hana Lowry (Perth Glory) corner.
Australia were unable to repeat the success of their 3-1 opening match victory on Sunday (AEST) when they took on South American heavyweights Brazil.
The Aussie back four were put under immediate pressure from A Seleção's pacey forward line on a water-logged pitch in Alajuela, and it did not take long for the Brazilians to break the deadlock when Internacional forward Priscila slotted home from a cut back after her first attempt was blocked by Ella Tonkin.
The goal was followed shortly thereafter by a 90-minute rain delay, as the Young Matildas only registered one shot for the entire match once play resumed. Brazil danced their way to a 2-0 victory after midfielder Aline fired her shot past Sally James in the opening 15 seconds of the second half.
Australia's third-match opponents Spain opened their campaign last week against Brazil in a free-flowing, end-to-end match which surprisingly yielded no goals from either side.
However, that all changed for the European side on Sunday (AEST), with a 5-0 demolition of tournament hosts Costa Rica.
The Spaniards put their Central American opponents to the sword in the opening 45 minutes, as Alaves defender Sonia Majarín opened the scoring after heading home from a direct corner, which was closely followed by a powerful close-range strike from FC Barcelona's Ariadana Mingueza.
A penalty at the hour-mark converted by Sevilla midfielder Inmaculada Gabarro well and truly put the game to bed, before late goals from Ane Elexpuru and Salma Paralluelo piled on the misery for the host nation - knocking them out of the tournament and helping Spain rise to the top of Group A.
How the Young Matildas can progress to the knock-outs
A win by any margin is the simple equation for the Young Matildas on Wednesday (AEST), as it will ensure that the side will go straight through to the quarter-finals.
Due to Spain's opening match 0-0 draw with Brazil, a win for the Aussies could even see them top the group in the event of Brazil dropping points to Costa Rica in their final group match.
However, a draw could make things near impossible for Australia, as they would then be relying on Brazil to lose to Costa Rica as well as finish with a lower goal difference than the Aussies.
In this case, the Young Matildas will be looking to put fate into their own hands on Wednesday (AEST) to emerge victorious over their European opponents.
