Coach Alen Stajcic sees the tournament as important for a few reasons and is convinced Sweden, China and Holland will be excellent opponents when they meet in Australia’s group.

“The main objectives are firstly to win the tournament,” he told www.footballaustralia.com.au

“The second one would be if we can find another two or three players who can step up to this level and show that they can not only compete at this level but dominate at this level.

“And then if the team can continue to evolve and mature and become more consistent. So there’s probably three main objectives for us going into this tournament."

“It’s always about results but it’s about balance as well and trying to develop the squad and develop the depth within the squad," he added. 

“We want to give a lot more players experience and caps and seeing how they perform at that level and seeing what we can learn about our team and those individuals and how we can get better moving forward to the major tournaments like the Asian Cup, World Cup and Olympics.

“We’re on the cusp of being a top-six nation at the moment and the top six countries get seeded for a World Cup. For me that blends into the notion that it’s a balancing act of results versus development.”

The squad that Stajcic has picked should see new faces enjoy game, with the likes of Alex Chidiac, Ellie Carpenter, Emma Checker and Amy Harrison joining a core of experienced Matildas who’ve played at Olympics and World Cups over the last couple of years.

Chidiac in particular is one who’ll excite fans.

 “She’s (Chidiac) had a really good backend of the season. Adelaide had a good team but the time she came in they were pretty much one of the best teams in the comp over the last half of the season. That’s what kind of an impact she had on the team.

“Just seeing her play 90 minutes week in, week out was a tremendous boost to her.

“She’s a great technician, she knows the game, is extremely competitive and feisty and she’s come into this camp at a really good level.

“She’s pushing for a starting spot in the team in a competitive midfield with people like (Katrina) Gorry, (Emily) van Egmond and (Elise) Kellond-Knight.

 “No doubt she’ll get a lot of game time," he predicted. 

Australia face Sweden in the opener, followed by Netherlands and China PR.

“They are all very good teams. We’re lucky that even in a tournament like this we’ve managed to draw the group of death.

“We’ve got pretty much three of the best teams at the tournament. 

Group C

Westfield Matildas

China P.R.

Netherlands

Sweden

Westfield Matildas v Sweden

1 March 2017

Albufeira, Portugal

Kick-Off: 6.30pm local time (5.30am AEDT, 2 March)

LIVE on FOX SPORTS 503

Westfield Matildas v Netherlands

3 March 2017

Vila Real Sto Antonio, Portugal

Kick-Off: 3.00pm local time (2.00am AEDT, 4 March)

LIVE on FOX SPORTS 506

China P.R. v Westfield Matildas

6 March 2017

Albufeira, Portugal

Kick-Off: 3.00pm local time (2.00am AEDT, 7 March)

LIVE on FOX SPORTS 505

Group A

Canada, Denmark, Portugal, Russia

Group B

Iceland, Japan, Norway, Spain

The two teams with the best classification of the three groups will play in the Final on 8 March 2017. The third highest ranked team and the best runner-up will play in the third place match.