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The Matildas will hold their final press conference later today before jetting off to Germany to begin preparations for the World Cup.

What has been noticeable has been the wider media coverage the team now enjoys in comparison to days gone by.

“Four years ago [at the team send off] it was mostly just friends and family. I was standing by myself – totally different this time around,” the Matildas skipper told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“Tonight we have Mark Arbib [Federal Minister for Sport], Lucas Neill, Holger Osieck and Han Berger. And there is plenty of media. It’s unprecedented. It’s a nice feeling.

“It’s a lot of pressure but really different and we’ll embrace it. We like pressure.”

The function hosted by Stephanie Brantz also saw the two youngest players in the squad - Caitlin Foord and Teigen Allen - receive their caps from FFA.

Lucas Neill also spoke eloquently about his World Cup experiences from 2006 and 2010 and had some advice for our girls. "Don't lose your first game 4-0," he joked.

However, Barbieri may need some extra massages when she gets to Germany after a mad dash to make last night’s jersey presentation in Sydney.

With the Chilean ash problem grounding flights from Melbourne, she promptly hired a car on the morning of the function and drove with striker Lisa De Vanna to Sydney making it in just eight hours.

The pair arrived as the function began with their official World Cup jerseys also being driven up by Nike in a mad dash to make it.

“The ash cloud took over Melbourne. I’m not going to risk it so I  went to the nearest hire car and I drove. I feel a little sore now. My back is catching up and my legs are heavy. An eight hour drive before a 24 hour flight is not the ideal situation," said Barbieri. 

“These are the things we do.”

Barbieri also posed an interesting question on her twitter feed as she was preparing to leave Melbourne in recent days.

“I had to scrub the oven, vacuum and do all these household chores. I stood back for a second and thought, ‘I wonder if Lucas Neill does this? Two days out from a World Cup is he really scrubbing an oven?’"

The Matildas play Brazil in their opener on June 29.

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