The Matildas will head into the Olympic bronze medal match with supreme confidence as goalkeeper Teagan Micah declared 'we can beat' the United States.
Australia fell just short of the gold medal match in a 1-0 loss to Sweden, while the USWNT suffered their first-ever defeat to Canada by the same margin in the other semi-final.
Both teams have already met during the tournament, playing out a drab 0-0 draw at the group stage that secured progression for both to the quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020.
Prior to the tournament, the U.S. were on a 44-game unbeaten streak dating back to a friendly defeat against France in January 2019, while they hadn't lost in a competitive match since being bundled out by Sweden in the Rio 2016 Olympics quarter-finals.
However the USWNT have struggled to live up to expectations as gold medal favourites in Japan, losing their opening game 3-0 to Sweden, before winning only one of their five matches within regulation time.
After achieving Australia's best-ever result in a major tournament - having bettered the quarter-final mark reached on five occasions - goalkeeper Micah revealed the team's confidence to not leave Tokyo empty-handed in Thursday night's match at Kashima Stadium.
With the bronze medal on the line, Micah - speaking after the Sweden defeat - feels the Matildas showed they have the upper hand over the U.S. by their performance in the group match
"Nah, we can beat them," Micah said when asked if Australia were worried about the USWNT. "Doesn’t matter who it is."
"We feel like we were the better side last time [in the group stage]. We just gotta go out there and do it again."
However, Matildas star Sam Kerr was a little more diplomatic with her assessment of the blockbuster contest - insisting Australia would go into the match as outsiders.
The green and gold striker warned that the USWNT would raise their game with a spot on the podium on the line.
"They’re (USA) just a different kettle of fish when there’s a medal at stake," Kerr said after the Sweden contest. "They’ve always showed up.
"They’re a really, really good team and they’ve got amazing players. We’ll play the underdog very well like we always do."
