The Matildas historic World Cup campaign came to an unfortunate abrupt end in the quarter-finals, after losing out reigning world champs Japan 1-0 in Edmonton. The Aussie girls defended for their lives in the scorching heat but eventually succumbed to the relentless pressure when in the 87th minute, Mana Iwabuchi pounced after the Australian defence failed to deal with a late corner sending the Japanese girls through to the semi-finals.

Just getting to the quarter-finals was a massive achievement for our girls, having to play four top ten ranked teams (USA, Sweden, Brazil and Japan) playing some outstanding football along the way showing that Australia can now not only match it but challenge the worlds best.

On the back of this stunning and eye-opening campaign, women's football, the fastest growing sport in the nation is finally starting to get the credit it deserves, and is about to go through a change that could shape the women's game in this country for a long time, domestically and internationally.

With a very young squad and having only had six months to prepare for this edition of the World Cup, Stajic's side will be hoping to bounce back and qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. After an impressive World Cup a medal seems like a realistic target should we qualify from a tough Asian region. Who knows what four years of preparation could do for this fantastic football team looking ahead to the next World Cup in 2019 in France.

We here at Inside Sport like the rest of the country are so very proud of our girls in their achievements. We'll be looking forward to a bright future, one of which we hope includes bringing home the World Cup trophy to the shores of Australia.

Here are some pictures from a heartbreaking defeat to the bitter foe, Japan.