For the first time, Australia is sending a team to a football World Cup with a genuine chance of winning it.

Matildas' X-factors in France Unite: A sisterly bond within the squad

Unite: A sisterly bond within the squad Joie: A positive and passionate attitude to the game that is reflected in their play

Joie: A positive and passionate attitude to the game that is reflected in their play Genialite: An extremely quick and lethal attack

If the Matildas become world champions in Lyon on July 8, it would be a remarkable achievement but not an unbelievable one.

Australia's women's football team has risen from an outsider to a contender in the world's most popular sport. Step by step, over the years and decades, it has built its reputation abroad, as well as within a very crowded sporting landscape at home.

The Matildas are admired by sporting fans across Australia for both their style of play and attitude on and off the pitch.

In the 2018 Benchmark Report, a survey to gauge the emotional connection between fans and teams, they were named the second most popular national team in the country, pipped to top spot by the gold-medal winning women's rugby sevens side, the Pearls.

The players themselves reckon the reason for this rapid rise in the world rankings to number six and soaring popularity in Australia is a unique rapport within the group, and a joyful attitude to the sport, which is expressed in their playing style.

"There's a really strong bond there. It's a family," says Ellie Carpenter, the Matildas' exciting 19-year-old fullback.

"Whenever we get together as a squad we also like to spend our downtime together, just hanging out and relaxing."

Ellie Carpenter is just 19 but has racked up plenty of international experience already. ( Supplied: Nike )

Those family-like ties could be what gives the Australians an edge as they attempt to negotiate their way through the World Cup in France, which kicks off on June 7.

Australia's group-stage opponents will be Italy (June 9), Brazil (June 14) and Jamaica (June 19).

"The girls, we've been through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows together as a team, we know each other's families and friends and how we grew up, and I think that really goes a long way in these high-pressure games and situations," goalkeeper Lydia Williams told ABC Grandstand.

"We don't really call ourselves a team, we call ourselves a family.

"And that's something that I think is really going to see us through in the build-up and then moving through the tournament."

Matildas players' Instagram accounts light up whenever the squad gets together with images of teammates hanging out at beaches or cafes like any other group of friends.

The gamebreaker: Sam Kerr Kerr is the captain and talisman of this team for good reason. Considered one of the top handful of players in the world, she is an insatiable goalscorer of supreme quality. Every Matildas opponent will be doing their homework on Kerr, but like all the great players, understanding the threat she poses doesn't necessarily mean you are able to stop her. She is at the peak of her powers and should be a joy to watch at this World Cup. Age: 25 Matildas caps: 76

"We've got a good team harmony at the moment," says Elise Kellond-Knight, the unheralded midfield heart of the side.

"You probably see us a lot at coffee shops. We do things other than that, I assure you. But we do drink a lot of coffee together."

Kellond-Knight says fans connect so easily with the Matildas because they see a group of women playing the game for fun.

While the profile of the team has soared in the last few years, everyone involved knows what it's like to battle for even the slightest attention from the media and the general public.

Though home matches now regularly attract crowds of 10,000-plus, it was only a few years ago those figures were more likely to be in the hundreds.

"Everyone kind of understands where we've come from," she says.

"They understand why we play the game. We're not doing it for millions of dollars. The fans immediately know that we do it for pure enjoyment and the passion we have to play for our country.

"I think that also comes through with the style that we play, and with smiles on our faces, and the fan engagement after games — it's all for the love of the game, it's not a job for us."

Kellond-Knight says the players all consider themselves ambassadors for the game. ( Instagram: Elise Kellond-Knight )

Kellond-Knight also cheekily suggests the women around the Matildas squad have a bit more charisma than many of their male counterparts, who have been worn down by years of professionalism.

"Our key audience is probably kids, so we've got to appear happy and engaging and I think that is the way we come across," she says.

"To be honest, that is how all the individuals are, so that just comes through, and you can see everybody's unique personalities as well.

"It would be interesting to hear what Ante [Milicic] thinks about coaching us compared to the men. We have a lot more personality, I think.

"At dinner time there's always constant chatter, constant banter, the mood is always light. It's pretty refreshing."

We may never know the specifics behind the shock sacking of former coach Alen Stajcic in January, five months out from the World Cup, but a "toxic culture" floated as a reason by some media outlets at the time is not something players, from the core group at least, say they experienced.

"I think the spirit of the team is fantastic," says Kellond-Knight.

"We've got a bunch of unique personalities that have to be guided in certain ways and I wouldn't describe it as toxic."

Carpenter agrees.

"It's competitive, but we all get along very well. There's a very strong team spirit."

Caitlin Foord, the 24-year-old forward with over 70 caps to her name, told Grandstand the upheaval of Stajic's ousting was a blessing in disguise.

"It shows how people responded to that [challenging situation] and how they bounced back and kept focus," she says.

"It was a bad situation at the time, but it did bring our team closer.

"It showed the unity between us."

Sam Kerr (right) leads a forward line that is lightning fast and lethal. ( AAP: Daniel Pockett )

Young and free, but with swathes of experience

While coaches and selectors often talk about finding the right blend of youth and experience, this Matildas squad is chock full of players who can actually tick both boxes — a result of introducing emerging talents to the setup at a very young age and allowing them to grow into the shirt.

The average age of the squad, ranging from 16-year-old Mary Fowler to 34-year-old Lisa De Vanna, is under 26, but the average number of caps is an impressive 55. There are 11 players with more than 70 caps, putting them well into veteran territory, and three with over 100 games in national colours.

"A lot of us have come up as youngsters and have been given the opportunity to play our first cap when we're 16, 17, 18, which is now seven years ago or longer for some people," says Williams.

"It's that opportunity and maturity that you develop from people that came before you and people that are coming though after you."

Growing as a team has seen confidence gradually grow over the years too, says Foord, to the point where this group of players believes they can win the World Cup.

"Over the years that experience and the gains, and that's where the belief has been built, with the more games and wins we've had together, that's what triggers it," she says.

"Going into this World Cup we're a lot more experienced than the last one, and we've experienced the knockout feeling in big tournaments now, and that's kind of embedded in us now."

According to Kellond-Knight, the Matildas may be a young team on paper, but mentality-wise, this is a group of hardened veterans.

"I think we're coming of age. We're not actually a young team anymore," she says.

The majority of us have had probably between 50 and 80 caps, and for me that's an experienced team.

"It's an advantage that a lot of our players got bled through at a very young age.

The Matildas are hoping their success in the Cup of Nations will further prepare them for a run at the biggest trophy of all. ( AAP: Daniel Pockett )

Expect fireworks when the Matildas take the field

A strong sense of unity and a love of the game may be the secret weapons in the Matildas' campaign, but opponents will be far more worried about their more tangible assets.

The side's defence has come under some criticism in the late-Stajcic, early-Milicic era. Not so much that they are bad at it, but they don't seem to care about it.

When you have one of the most electric forward lines in world football, though, that often doesn't matter.

"Our speed will be one of our main advantages out there," says Carpenter.

"Our attack is probably the fastest in the game and we're extremely quick in transition.

"With Sam Kerr leading the line, we've got one of the most dangerous attacking players in the game."

Kellond-Knight says in recent years the Matildas' opponents have come to respect their attractive, passing style of play, which sees them move the ball around with skill and patience before launching into speedy raids on goal.

"I'll keep it simple, we're exciting," says Kellond-Knight.

"We've got front strikers that are probably some of the best in the world at the moment.

"They've just got that X-factor, they're so quick on transition.

"Teams will be frightened of us."

Will a fearsome attack and a bucketload of comradery win Australia the World Cup? Not necessarily, there are anywhere up to 12 teams in with a chance in the most open tournament anyone can remember.

But the fact the Matildas are showing up with a genuine chance of conquering the world is already a huge win for football in this country.