Is the No.1 jersey Mackenzie Arnold’s to lose?

No other goalkeeper got a look-in at the Cup of Nations,with the West Ham United shot-stopper starting in all three of Australia’s games,making some important saves in each of them,and importantly,being responsible for no howlers. She was even named player of the tournament,but the real prize she is after is a starting spot at the World Cup - and all the cards are falling in her favour. Lydia Williams has struggled for game time at club level over the last two years,making just two appearances in total during stints with Arsenal,PSG and now Brighton,while Teagan Micah,who was the first-choice goalkeeper for Australia at the Olympics and a while after that,has lost her stranglehold on the gloves. This position might be unsettled no longer.

Could Clare Hunt be a World Cup starter?

The Western Sydney Wanderers defender was undoubtedly the find of the tournament. This was her first Matildas camp - although Gustavsson would have selected her earlier bar for an ill-timed injury - but she looked every bit an experienced international,to the point when both Gustavsson and Clare Polkinghorne,who knows a bit about what it takes to be a good centre-back,said they had never seen a more confident debut performance.

Alanna Kennedy did not feature in the Cup of Nations,sitting on the bench for all three games while presumably nursing an injury of some sort,which opened the door for the 23-year-old,who was brought on at half-time of their opener against Czechia and played every minute onwards. Gustavsson has been desperate to build depth in this position,and every World Cup team squad needs a bolter - Hunt will probably not only fill that quota for the Matildas but could even be starting in defence.

How will the A-Leaguers keep themselves ticking over?

The A-League Women grand final is in April,the World Cup starts on July 20 - so Clare Hunt and Cortnee Vine,for example,will go almost three months without regular football before the tournament begins. Gustavsson doesn’t quite know how to square this circle. “What do we do with the players that finished the league earlier? How can we make sure we cover that gap? What can we do for them as a national team staff? What can clubs do for them? What can they do themselves? We have already started that process,to look into different alternatives,” he said. “I can’t tell you now,what that looks like,but we are looking into[it].”

Before then,of course,is a blockbuster friendly clash with England in London,which will tell us a lot more about where the Matildas - and the players competing for spots in the team - really stand.

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