Matildas star Caitlin Foord knows Australia's upcoming matches against China will be the last chance for players to seal a spot for the Paris Olympic.
Australia's national women's soccer team will have their final dress-rehearsals for the Games when they take on China at Adelaide Oval on Friday, then at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Monday.
The two games have been billed as "friendlies", but will be anything but that for the 23-strong squad, with coach Tony Gustavsson set to swing the axe.
Gustavsson will be forced to whittle down his squad to 18 for the Olympics, with the addition of four players as alternates.
Arsenal star Foord admits many of her teammates will face a nervous wait to see if they avoid getting the chop.
"There's no such thing as a friendly to start off with. It's definitely not a friendly match," Foord said on Thursday.
"It is a tough camp in the sense that the (Olympic) team is going to be selected.
"This is the last opportunity to prove yourself. I would say a lot of the girls are nervous for the game tomorrow."
Gustavsson said he has already settled on more than half of his Olympic squad, while Katrina Gorry remains a question mark.
The midfielder is in a race against time for the Olympics after undergoing ankle surgery last month, with veteran Aivi Luik (hamstring) also sidelined from the matches against China.
Meanwhile, influential defender Clare Hunt has overcome a foot stress fracture to join the squad.
"I have to tell someone at the end of this week 'you're not going to the Olympics'," Gustavsson said.
"We've had almost four years to prepare for this ... I have more knowledge coming into this selection process than previous selections, which means a core group of players are locked in for us and the coaching staff.
"I'd stay roughly 14 to 15.
"There's a question mark on the player availability like Katrina Gorry, for example, so when we're making a selection, we have to make it based on where we think she will be on the 25th of July, not where she's at now.
"The other spots are up for grabs, but there's a lot of players competing for them."
Foord and her teammates are set for a reunion of sorts when they line up at Adelaide Oval, with former Matildas coach Ante Milicic now at the helm of the Chinese women's team.
