More than 100,000 people attending games in Perth, a superstar striker recognised as the second-best player in the world and 11 sold-out matches in a row; make no mistake, Matildas mania didn’t end at the Women’s World Cup.

The Matildas will continue their Olympic qualifying campaign against minnows Chinese Taipei on Wednesday at 10pm (AEST), hoping to continue the strong form that has led them to score 10 and concede zero goals across their first two games.

A rusty performance gave the Matildas a 2-0 win over a gallant Iran last Thursday before a slick attacking display overpowered the Philippines 8-0 on Sunday.

Chinese Taipei lost 4-1 to the Philippines and drew 0-0 with Iran in its two outings, meaning the Matildas should make short work of a team ranked 38th in the world with little to play for.

The reality of football is that anything can happen, but anything less than a resounding win for Tony Gustavsson’s team would be a huge upset following an impressive World Cup.

His side will undergo several changes from its last outing, with Football Australia confirming right back Ellie Carpenter and midfielder Emily van Egmond are returning to their clubs in France and the US respectively.

“Following agreements between Football Australia and their clubs, San Diego Wave and Olympique Lyon, Van Egmond and Carpenter arrived earlier than normal into assembly and as a result have departed earlier,” FA said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cortnee Vine has also returned to recover at Sydney FC after she was injured and substituted just 10 minutes into her appearance against the Philippines.

World Cup quarter-final hero Cortnee Vine will miss the Matildas’ next Olympic qualifier against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday night. Photo: Getty

The game will be played at the smaller HBF Park, which seats 20,500 compared to Optus Stadium’s 60,000, but the sold-out crowd will be making their voices heard.

Recognition

Fresh off a hat-trick of goals in the drubbing of the Philippines, Sam Kerr was officially named the world’s second-best women’s player at this year’s Ballon d’Or, the highest individual award in football.

Tweet from @ChelseaFCW

Kerr is now the most nominated player of all time and moved up one spot from 2021 and 2022. But without European success at Chelsea in the Champions League, it will be a difficult task to claim the honour.

Winner Aitana Bonmati won a Champions League and domestic double with Barcelona after scoring 19 times in 37 games from centre midfield, and topped it all off when her Spain side won the Women’s World Cup in Australia.

Kerr scored 29 goals in 38 games for Chelsea last season, but an injury-ridden World Cup campaign — in which she returned to the starting line-up in the semi-final against England and scored the goal of the tournament — dampened her chances of taking the top gong.

Kerr also revealed she reinjured the calf that kept her out of the starting line-up for most of the tournament during the third-place playoff against Sweden, although she has since returned to action at Chelsea.

Hayley Raso also made the top 30 in the Ballon d’Or, after an impressive World Cup campaign and her move to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Growing the game

Although only four of the Matildas’ World Cup squad play in the A-League Women, all 23 picked have played domestically at some point.

When the competition kicked off three weeks ago, it took just two games to break the record round attendance, when more than 11,000 people attending the round one Sydney derby and 5735 attended the Newcastle Jets versus Central Coast Mariners match.

Memberships have also grown strongly across the competition, with Sydney FC reaching more than 2000 memberships for their women’s team for the first time in the club’s history.

Kerr’s long-held record as the youngest player in the competition was broken by 49 days in round two, when Western Sydney Wanderers’ Talia Younis — aged 14 years, 11 months and 26 days — appeared against Wellington Phoenix.

Tweet from @aleaguewomen