SYDNEY — Lizzie Wilson had little interest in athletics.
The 24-year-old had never watched a game of any kind or even heard of the Matildas a month prior. Now, football is her everything.
"I'm one of the Matildas many new followers on Instagram, I've been deep diving on YouTube, I made myself learn the offside rule... I've [even] been dreaming about their penalty shots."
"I'm like: 'What is wrong with me'... that's the kind of level of obsession."
It's a well-known tale playing out across the nation. There is widespread Matildas fever, from suburban clubs to urban stadiums.
Many people argue that acquiring a seat for England's semi-final match on Wednesday has been more difficult than getting into a Taylor Swift concert. It has felt like finding a Willy Wonka golden ticket.
In Sydney, it's difficult to go anywhere without encountering tributes to the squad; huge posters are affixed to skyscrapers, billboards shout the names of players, and supporters are dressed in green and gold.
With an estimated average viewership of 4.17 million, Australia's match versus France on Saturday was the country's biggest athletic event to air on television in at least ten years. The highlights of the game flooded social media.
Many believe the Matildas' explosive growth and World Cup craze will mark a turning point for Australian women's football.
The squad was still playing in empty venues not too long ago.
Brazil, one of the top women's teams, flew to Brisbane in 2014 to play two friendly matches against the Matildas.
Because operating an empty facility was too expensive, Australia's Football Federation was forced to close the stadium for the second match because fewer than 2,600 seats had been sold for the first match.
Players allegedly distributed flyers to draw spectators to their early games and called television stations to request that they air their contests. There was not a single journalist present at the Matildas' airport news conference at the 2003 World Cup in the United States.
But ever since, the squad has pushed for acceptance, exposure, and equality. Their efforts were fruitful.
Every Matildas game throughout this tournament has essentially been sold out, thanks to the millions of additional supporters who have descended on viewing areas across the nation, watched online, or tuned in at their local bar.
It's difficult for suppliers like Nike to keep up with demand for the team's uniforms, and if they win the World Cup, there may be talk of a national holiday.
"For decades they told us nobody cared. We didn't believe them. Now they believe us," after their thrilling quarterfinal penalty shootout with France, the team's media coordinator, Ann Odong, blogged on Saturday.
The tale includes the Matildas' on-field accomplishments. They are shaping history.
Although Australia has traditionally been a sports-fanatic nation, no national team has ever advanced thus far in a World Cup tournament.
The men's team, known as the Socceroos, had their best results in the round of 16 in 2006 and 2022. And up to this point, the Matildas have routinely quit at the quarterfinal stage.
But what wins people over, according to football journalist Samantha Lewis, is their tenacity in the face of hardship.
"The Matildas' motto is 'never say die', and that spirit of fight and perseverance is not only seen in the way they play on the field, but also in all of the things they've achieved off of it, such as collective bargaining agreements and equal pay," she told the BBC.
The mindset is perfectly in line with the country's history of admiration for underdog tales.
"That's the reason why they resonate so strongly with the country: they reflect how we want to see ourselves," Ms Lewis says.
The team's feverish anticipation has reached a fever pitch since England, one of Australia's greatest sporting adversaries, is what lies between them and a World Cup final.
Ms. Wilson is also keeping track of the remaining time until the semifinal matchup with the Lionesses.
"I'm incredibly stressed and also very excited. It's intense."
In any case, according to Football Australia, the Matildas have started a movement.
"The interest we're seeing around our game right now is phenomenal," the association's head of women's football Sarah Walsh says.
"I think this is going to be the World Cup where we move beyond saying 'no-one's watching' to 'hey, who's paying?'"
Ms. Walsh, a former forward for the Matildas from 2004 to 2012, wants to use the success of the competition to raise the level of play in this country.
That means "driving structural change" to close the opportunity gaps that persist for women and girls, she says.
However, Tony Gustavsson, the Matildas' head coach, thinks his squad has already overcome cultural obstacles.
"This team can create history in so many ways, not just by winning," he told a recent press conference.
"[It's] the way that they can inspire the next generation, how they can unite a nation or [how] they can leave a legacy that is much bigger than 90 minutes of football. I think that is also why I believe in them so much."
Ms. Wilson is proof of that. She feels included in that world for the first time after feeling excluded from athletics as a young child.
"Watching these women on screen I'm like: 'Oh my God, I want to be that strong. I want to be able to run that fast.'"
She is proud above anything else, though.
"I literally went out [on Sunday] and bought myself a newspaper, just so I could have [the Matildas] photo on the front... crazy."
