This is the big time. The box office. And for all the feel-good stories in women's sport right now, the rise of Emily van Egmond from the back streets of Newcastle to the peak of her sport might be the pick of them.

At 22, she is coming into her prime – and isn't competing on the world stage as much as steamrolling right over it.

When she gets on the plane to Fortaleza, where the Matildas will be based in their preparations for August's Games in Rio de Janeiro, she'll have her eyes set on the biggest prize of all.

"Just to qualify for Rio was awesome, especially in the manner we did. But we're not going over to make up the numbers," she said. "If we prepare well, stay focused and play to our potential, I don't see why we can't be a serious contender. We're going over to win.

"People saw a glimpse of what we can do against Japan [in the Olympic qualifiers] but that's just a small glimpse of what's to come, especially for the future. And that's not the just Olympics, but the 2019 World Cup and beyond that as well."

The player herself is a reflection of the team – the Matildas are coming of age. Expectations for an Australian team have never been so high after its incredible unbeaten qualifying tournament, the excitement is palpable.

"Australia's rise has been hard to miss – we've gone from hovering around the 9-10 mark to the top five, which is a big leap into the elite. The rest of the world is very aware of us," she said. "They see us as young, super competitive and with a lot of potential, plus we play a very attractive brand of football. It's a very attacking style and that was effective in our [qualifying] and we've built off the recent success of the World Cup as well.

"If we can continue to go the same way we're going, around the world, hopefully people will talk about the female footballers of Australia."

Field of dreams: Emily van Egmond at her old stomping ground. Photo: Simone De Peak

When she's bouncing around the family home in Newcastle – as she's been doing this week after returning from Germany – the world stage feels far away. But it's the only time she has to pause and reflect.

"It's funny, I really haven't even really had a chance to think about it because I've been so flat out over in Europe," she laughs. "It's been all-consuming with the Bundesliga and the Champions League. I was just so focused on doing well with Frankfurt. Now I'm home, I'm just trying to get in some moments to relax before we go again for the New Zealand games [in June]."

For its size, Frankfurt boasts an underwhelming presence in men's football but in the women's game, four-time European champion FFC Frankfurt are a powerhouse without peer.

"The Americans have the best mentality, they're very physical and while Germany isn't far off that, their league stands out for the technical qualities," van Egmond said. "In my team alone, there's Simone Laudehr, Dzsenifer Marozsán, Kerstin Garefrekes and Germany's captain Saskia Bartusiak. They're some of the very best in the world."

For Matildas coach Alen Stajcic, van Egmond's rise is one he's relished watching after some early stumbles.

"I saw a lot of maturity in Emily the second time she went overseas to America," he said. "The day-in, day-out training environment she experienced there and the physicality of the American league certainly took her out of her comfort zone. She was only 19 or 20 and it was tough."

But going to Germany has only added another level to her game, according to the Matildas mentor.

"She's come back with the mental toughness. Germany is a ruthless country in training regimes and competition for spots," he said. "Frankfurt is chock-full of international stars. So she knows if she's not at the top of her game, she doesn't even get a gig in the starting line-up. It's brought her to a new level of professionalism and toughness."

But her intimate knowledge of Germany's key players might just come in handy in Brazil. The two sides will face off in a blockbuster match on August 6 at Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, three days after Australia's opening group stage match against Canada at the same venue, before finishing with group minnows Zimbabwe in Salvador.

"Germany are a massive powerhouse and we're under no illusion about how good they are," van Egmond said. "It's pretty much the biggest challenge there is, but there's no reason we should be fearing them. I think we should be looking forward to it and thinking we can win. I believe we're in a position now where we can beat anyone on our day.

"Canada are a side we lost to at the Cyprus Cup in a closed-door friendly a year or so ago but we've improved so much since then and Zimbabwe is a bit of the unknown. Either way, we're not scared of anyone and this is a team ready for great things."