When Cortnee Vine kicked the Matildas' winning penalty, celebrations erupted in stadiums, parks, pubs and homes across the nation.
The Australian public have united around this team and its mantra of "til it's done". We were rewarded in a history defining moment where sporting code wars took a backseat with scenes at football stadiums across the country all pausing to soak in the penalty mayhem.
It's easy to get swept away with the hype and hopes of this team. It's one that could very well win Australia its first World Cup in a world game where it's fighting for a share of the pie in the nation's attention against other big sporting codes.
After the heroics at Brisbane Stadium, we very much should get swept away in the hype and dream big.
However, all of this hasn't happened in isolation.
Even before the very first Matildas represented Australia against New Zealand in 1978, people have been working towards this.
The moment that stopped the nation was built from the foundation of countless players, administrators, coaches and supporters, whose shoulders the current Matildas each stand on.
Perhaps the turning point in the Matildas fortunes on the world stage was a strike in 2015, where many of the current players united to demand equal pay as their male counterparts.
This deal has allowed a generation to remain playing together for a decade, replicating the USA and other major European nations in having experienced sides being the key to international success.
More importantly, looking beyond the next week where destiny will unravel, there's the domestic competition to lock in this team's success well into the future.
Don't be fooled by the likes of Sam Kerr playing for Chelsea, or Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord at Arsenal, the journey of each Matilda has come through the A-League Women's and that's where our next generation will come from.
You only need to look at Cortnee Vine or rock at the back Clare Hunt as examples of players who only five months ago strolled out for their respective A-League sides.
In the words of Socceroos legend Johnny Warren "I told you so".
The world game has well and truly gripped a nation and we can't stop talking about it.
