The heartbreak of missing out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympics is driving the Matildas more than ever before, ahead of Paris this year.
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00:00 The Matildas are ready to bring their own show to Melbourne.
00:05 Despite the venue's quick change, the Australians aren't concerned about the playing surface.
00:11 If you hadn't have told me there was a concert on it, Tony told me as well, I might not have known.
00:16 The hard Melbourne pitch in forecast stifling heat is starkly different to the softer surface in a freezing Tashkent
00:24 where snow fell as the Matildas took a three goal lead on aggregate.
00:28 Both sides will have to quickly adjust to the conditions as well as deal with jet lag.
00:34 There's never going to be an optimal circumstance when you fly that much and you have jet lag and you have the different temperature and such.
00:40 But I know one thing and that is these players never complain.
00:43 We're all getting a little bit older now and the opportunities for major tournaments is getting thinner.
00:48 The Matildas can book a spot to Paris if they win tomorrow night.
00:52 And as the games approach, one of the biggest challenges for head coach Tony Gustafsson is the size of the squad.
00:59 He can name 23 tomorrow, but under Olympic rules only 18 can play in Paris.
01:05 To then have to say to someone that actually deserves to be there that there's no spot for you, that is the toughest part of this job.
01:11 We can show an aggressive game, aggressive answer to the Australian team.
01:16 The Matildas say they won't hold back either with an Olympic dream in their grasp.
01:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]