GLENDORE Public School's usual sky and navy blue was replaced with a sea of green and gold on Tuesday as students cheered on their Matildas heroes.
The support is expected to the reach the inner-sanctum of the Matildas before their FIFA Women's World Cup semi-final clash against England on Wednesday as Glendore's principal, Annette van Egmond, is the mother of star Newcastle-raised midfielder Emily van Egmond.
Annette, who has been on leave to watch Australia's World Cup matches live, returned to the Maryland school on Tuesday to celebrate the Matildas' historic achievement with excited students.
Proudly wearing her daughter's gold No.10 jersey, Annette was surrounded by students in Matildas shirts, scarves and hats.
"When I walk through the playground around here at my school, the beautiful Glendore Public School, I'll ask kids to tell me who their favourite footballer is with the round ball and they'll say Sam Kerr or Emily van Egmond," Annette said.
"They're not naming the Socceroos, which is no disrespect to them, I just think it's the amount of support and wave of success they've garnered."
Annette and her husband Gary - who is the Newcastle Jets women's coach and guided the men's team to their 2007-08 A-League championship - have watched all five of the Matildas World Cup games live.
That includes the nail-biting 7-6 victory on penalties over France on Saturday in the quarter-final.
"It's been incredible. We're all exhausted," she said. "It's an emotional roller-coaster as you can imagine.
"The last game on Saturday was just completely and utterly intense.
"It's been fabulous. These are the tournaments that all the hard work goes towards, and we as family and supporters, look forward to the most."
Emily, 30, made her debut for the Matildas aged 16 in 2010 and has since become one of Australia's most experienced players with 133 caps.
The box-to-box midfielder represented Australia at the 2011 (Germany), 2015 (Canada) and 2019 (France) World Cups and has been a key member of this campaign for coach Tony Gustavsson, starting four of the five games up front, with star striker Sam Kerr being eased back from injury.
In April Emily suffered a back injury while playing for club side San Diego Wave in the US National Women's Soccer League and there were concerns she might miss the home World Cup entirely.
"It was very touch-and-go for her," Annette said. "We were sitting on the edge of our seats wondering if fitness wise she would be in contention for selection. Thankfully she was.
"We never take selection in the national team for granted and it's never a given. We understand that. Minutes on the pitch are absolutely priceless."
Matildas fever has engulfed Australia over the past few weeks. It's been described as a transformative moment for women's sport.
Last Saturday's quarter-final was viewed by an estimated audience of 4.17 million people, and it's believed to be the biggest television audience since Cathy Freeman's gold medal-winning race at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"I know for Emily - I can't speak for the rest of the girls - she's been absolutely overwhelmed and astounded with the immense level of support the girls have had and how far-reaching it's been," Annette said.
"It's absolutely well deserved, but it's also surprising."
Year six Glendore Public student Lara Hardes is among thousands of junior footballers inspired by the Matildas.
The Wallsend Primary School Sports Association representative has watched all the Matildas games and has tickets for the World Cup final on Sunday at Stadium Australia.
"I was very excited when I found out she [Annette] was our principal," Lara said.
But the Matildas' appeal doesn't just extend to girls. Glendore year five student, Phoenix Williams, plays centre back for the Maryland-Fletcher under-12 boys and has been swept up in Matildas fever.
"They just inspire me so much," Phoenix said. "We can see it's not just the boys that are good, women can be good too."
