Emily van Egmond on the FIFA Women's World Cup moment she thought may not come

A debilitating back injury sustained in April threatened to cruel the Newcastle 30-year-old's dreams of being part of the biggest moment in Australian women's sporting history.

But, after a solid 20-minute showing off the bench in the Matildas' gritty 1-0 opening win over Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia on Thursday night, the reliable box-to-box midfielder declared the best was yet to come.

"It's a stressful time as an athlete," a relieved van Egmond, who plays for San Diego Wave in the National Women's Soccer League, told the Newcastle Herald post-match.

"You've obviously worked your whole life for tournaments like this, so to get an injury a couple of months out, and it being a back injury, they're tricky and you never know which way it can go.

"I'm definitely over that hump. I'm so fortunate that I was in such a good club land with San Diego, and to be honest, without them I don't know if I would have been here, so huge credit to them and obviously the medical staff here with Australia.

"I'm just grateful that I'm here and get to be doing what I love."

Van Egmond took the field in the 75^th minute as one of the most experienced players on the pitch. The game was her 129^th appearance for Australia and it told.

The Dudley Redhead United junior and Newcastle Jets product slotted straight into the action, providing pinpoint passes into the attacking channels, pressure on the ball and composure at a time when the Matildas were forced to defend grimly.

They carried the weight of a nation, and a record 75,784 screaming fans at the ground, with them.

"To play in front of that amount of people and the pressure that we had going into this first game, I think we handled it tremendously and it's just a huge credit to the girls for the way that we performed and came out on top," van Egmond said.

"Football isn't about playing the prettiest always. It's about grinding out results and I feel like tonight that's exactly what we did, and it's a huge credit to the character that we have in this squad."

Adamstown Rosebud junior Clare Wheeler is also part of the Matildas' 23-player squad but remained unused on the bench on Thursday night.

Van Egmond was one of only two substitutes made by coach Tony Gustavsson, who made a defensive play with the introduction of veteran Clare Polkinghorne in the 85^th minute.

Gustavsson later credited the crowd for helping Australia get across the line.

"It was such a great atmosphere and just something really special to be able to be at four World Cups but this one in particular, being at home, is great," van Egmond said.

"This moment has been building for last however many years, so to get that one ticked off is amazing and a win of course is the most important thing."

Next up is the world No.40-ranked Nigeria, who played out a scoreless draw with Olympic champions Canada in Melbourne on Friday.

It was a huge result for the Matildas, who are top of Group B as they prepare to face Nigeria in Brisbane next Thursday before Canada in Melbourne on July 31.

The two top sides in group progress to the knock-out stages.

"We can look towards Nigeria and hopefully carry some of that momentum now into that next game because it's going to be massive again, and tournament football is such a quick turnaround so we have to ready," van Egmond said.