Newcastle's Clare Wheeler plans to "feed off" the energy of a packed McDonald Jones Stadium on Tuesday night as the Matildas look to turn the tables on the might of world superpowers USA.
The 23-year-old midfielder has gained four caps for the Matildas since making her senior international debut in September and said there was no better way to build confidence than to test yourself against the world's best.
Wheeler is one of two Novocastrians in the Australia squad, including long-serving Matildas midfielder Emily van Egmond.
Australia have a point to prove after losing 3-0 to the back-to-back world champions in Sydney on Saturday night.
A national record of 36,109 fans turned out at Stadium Australia for the first match of a two-game series.
Ticket sales for Tuesday night's encounter have already surpassed a Newcastle record for a Matildas match, which is 16,829, and the city is pushing to put up the full house sign with a sell-out crowd of 26,000.
"Newcastle definitely get behind the women and are very vocal and very loud and that's what you want from a crowd," Wheeler said in Newcastle on Monday.
"We feed off that playing. Having 36,000 people there on the weekend was amazing. It gives you energy and definitely inspires us to keep going and I feel like that will be amazing to have that here too."
The match will be the last chance players have to impress Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson before he names his squad for the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, to be played in India in January.
For Wheeler, especially, it is another opportunity to gain experience and press her claims for inclusion.
"Every game, every cap and every minute you get gives you a bit more confidence," she said.
"I feel like what better way to get confidence than to verse the world's best. [America] are one of the powerhouses of women's football, so what better way to learn where the level is and where you need to get to than versing the world's best."
Australia have only ever beaten the USA once in women's football and have never beaten the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists on home soil.
Van Egmond, who has made 109 appearances for the her country since making her senior debut as a 16-year-old, was confident the Matildas could hit back after Saturday night's disappointing result.
"There were parts of the game that he [Gustavsson] was impressed with and there were parts that we obviously have to get better at," van Egmond said on Monday.
"We go into every game wanting to win, so at the end of the day that's primarily what the focus for Tuesday's game will be: to win and put on a good performance here."
