There is no denying the impact and influence Sam Kerr has for Matildas success.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
But, while Australia's captain and her calf complaint have dominated headlines this World Cup, the unsung efforts of one of her long-serving teammates is proving pivotal to their World Cup ambitions.
Newcastle's Emily van Egmond came into her fourth World Cup as one of coach Tony Gustavsson's "game-changers" off the bench.
But, in the absence of Kerr, the Dudley Redhead United Football Club junior has revelled in an advanced role and helped orchestrate the Matildas' 2-0 win over Denmark at Stadium Australia on Monday night to secure a quarter-finals appearance.
Van Egmond, who overcome a debilitating back injury to be at another World Cup, was used off the bench for impact in Australia's tournament-opening 1-0 win over Ireland but has started in their other three outings.
The versatile 30-year-old, who began her career as a No.10 but has been used as a holding midfielder for a lot of her 131 Matildas appearances, was the stand-out performer in a 3-2 loss to Nigeria in the group stage.
Not only did van Egmond score with a textbook finish, she was the glue in the front third.
In their must-win 4-0 win against Canada then the round-of-16 victory over Denmark, the San Diego Wave player forged a commanding combination with the silken-skilled Mary Fowler to pull the strings of Australia's attack.
Fowler produced a sublime pass into the left channel for Caitlin Foord's 29th minute goal then cleverly chipped the ball to van Egmond in the 70th for the Newcastle Jets product to put on a platter for Hayley Raso to score.
"I really like playing with Em," Fowler, who played beyond her years against Denmark, said post-match.
"I think we just read each other's play really well. I think it helps having us there and then having speedy wingers, it just happened to work quite nicely.
"But she's a smart player, so it makes it easy to work with her."
The goal was Raso's third of the tournament.
"Emily always gets into good positions at training and sets people up for a finish, so I was lucky to be there in that position for her little assist," Raso said.
Van Egmond was feeling "good" after producing a solid 80-minute performance before being replaced by Kerr, who finally got her first game time of the World Cup.
"I'm just taking one game at a time," van Egmond said.
"Personally, I've been happy with how I've been playing, so however I can contribute to the team, and the most important thing for me is the team and getting those results and helping push through this tournament because we're in a good spot right now."
The Matildas are set to meet either France or Morocco, who were playing in Adelaide on Tuesday night, in a quarter-final showdown in Brisbane on Saturday.
They are building nicely and have shown so far they can win in many ways.
Six different players have scored in their four games, and that doesn't include Kerr, and the Matildas have recorded three clean sheets.
"We've got so many things up our sleeve that we can bring out when we need and we can execute them at a high level like we've obviously demonstrated this tournament, so it's pleasing," van Egmond said.
"And, to obviously add the addition of our leader to the arsenal that we have is a little bit scary.
"So, I think we're in a good place right now, but in saying that you've got to stay humbled, keep two feet on the ground, and the next game is going to be a challenge for sure."