A lot has happened in the five months since the senior Matildas were last together.
In June, an improvised squad of Australians without most of their major players were picked apart by a ruthless Spanish team before an underwhelming draw with Portugal.
In July, 16 of Europe's best teams showed just how rapidly the continent is evolving as they took part in the 2022 Women's European Championships, with England winning their first major title since 1966.
And, in August, the next generation of Matildas took part in the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica, providing the best glimpse yet into the future of the women's game.
All of these moments acted as their own barometers for where Australia sits in the wider landscape of women's football, even while some of its biggest stars — such as Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy and Kyah Simon — hadn't pulled on the jersey since April.
And, in just over two weeks' time, the Matildas will face yet another yardstick for their progress as the 2023 Women's World Cup creeps closer: playing Olympic gold medallists Canada in a two-game friendly series in early September.
These games are significant for a few reasons.
First, Canada will be the latest top-ranked side that Australia will confront as part of head coach Tony Gustavsson's long-term preparation strategy: playing more-difficult games more often, in order to provide clarity around where the Matildas need to improve, as well as the systems and styles they will confront come next year's tournament.
Crucially, Canada poses a different kind of challenge to Australia than what New Zealand, the USA and Brazil did in their respective friendlies over the past year.
The Canadians are famous for their defensive fortitude, having conceded just 15 goals since 2020.
Most recently, they let just one goal through in their recent CONCACAF Women's Championships — a 1-0 loss to the USA in the final — as well as copping four on their way to Olympic gold last July: the fewest of the tournament.
The Matildas have historically struggled to break down well-organised defensive teams, so Canada offers one of the strongest tests in this respect.
Second, it's an opportunity for Gustavsson to further narrow down the squad he expects to take to the field in just under a year's time and refine the football he wants them to be playing.
Having handed out debuts to 17 players since taking over the job last January — compared with 2.3 debutants per year previously — Gustavsson said now is the time to "draw a line in the sand" and move on from the experimental start to his tenure.
That was where he wanted to widen the player pool, test different tactics and short-cut the usual development pathways for young players to, instead, "narrow down [...] so we get some cohesion, some consistency and focus more on a smaller player pool, just to focus on the World Cup".
With exceptions due to injury, this window will see the return of Australia's biggest names — such as Kerr, Catley, Kennedy, Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso and Mary Fowler — alongside a handful of emerging players such as Cortnee Vine, Larissa Crummer, Alex Chidiac and Charlotte Grant.
Chloe Logarzo has also been called up after a 12-month lay-off with an ACL injury, but is not expected to get any minutes as she continues to work her way back into international football.
And third, perhaps most importantly, these games will be a chance for Gustavsson to restore some faith in the Australian public that the Matildas are on the right track under his leadership.
The numbers themselves are stark: The team has won just eight and drawn six of their 24 games since he arrived, albeit against better opposition in a shorter space of time.
Just four of those wins were in competitive fixtures, the last of which was in the group stage of January's Asian Cup, while the most-recent friendly wins were against New Zealand in April.
While Football Australia has not wavered in their outward support of Gustavsson — who is contracted until the 2024 Paris Olympics — last month's Euros ended with two head coaches being fired from their posts after underwhelming performances from sides that were expected to dominate (the Netherlands and Norway).
There is precedent, then, if those in charge feel that the Matildas are not showing any clear signs of improvement as the World Cup draws nearer.
That doesn't seem to faze Gustavsson, though. When asked about the public's current perception of the team, he said what mattered most was the faith that the players themselves had in what he was trying to do.
"There's a lot of faith in the process within the circle, meaning staff and players know exactly what we've done over 18 months, why we've done it, why we had so many debutants, and why we have played [the] toughest schedule ever in the program's history," he said.
"They know where we are and where we're heading. They also know that we've drawn a line in the sand now and narrowed down on a group.
"That doesn't mean everything is going to be perfect come Canada games, but the focus starts there.
"It's very similar to what we did in the Olympics, when I only had two camps [beforehand]: I narrowed down on a small group really quick. It didn't mean it was perfect and the result was great, but that team got to prepare.
"So, in that sense, I think, inside of the circle, the belief and the trust and the faith is there. But outside, maybe I haven't been good enough to explain what we've done and why it looks like it has. Maybe that's where I can do a better job.
"I understand that, from the outside, maybe it needs to be good results to gain back the faith.
"But in my opinion, it needs to be good performances, similar to the ones we had against Brazil in the double-header, one of the USA games, both games against New Zealand.
"If we can play that way, I think people can see we're heading in the right direction."
Now, with almost all of Australia's senior players returning to camp for the upcoming Canada games, this will be the chance for Gustavsson to not only draw a line in the sand in terms of his player pool, but also to show those outside the inner circle that their faith in this team and this manager can be as strong as it appears inside it.
