EMILY van Egmond made her debut for the Matildas against North Korea behind closed doors at Ballymore Oval in Brisbane a decade ago.
On Friday, the now 26-year-old will line up for her 96th international when the Matildas take on Vietnam at McDonald Jones Stadium at 6.30pm on Friday night.
At stake is a place at the Tokyo Olympics.
And van Egmond is hoping for a record crowd of over 20,000 to spur the Matildas on in the first leg of the qualifier.
More than 11,000 tickets have been sold for the clash.
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"Playing at home is special," van Egmond said. "The last time we played here, we had a fantastic crowd. To think back to when I made my debut to now, it has come on leaps and bounds. "
Friday night's battle with Vietnam, which kicks off at 6.30pm, will be the third time the Matildas have played in Newcastle in the past three years.
A then Australian-record crowd of 16,829 fans watched Sam Kerr score a hat-trick to the lead the Matildas to a 3-2 win over Brazil in 2017. In 2018, the Matildas thrashed Chile 5-0 in front of 12,649 fans.
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Newcastle lost the record for the largest crowd for women's football in 2019 when 20,029 were on hand at Bankwest Stadium to watch the Matildas edge Chile 2-1.
Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes welcomed the Matildas to the city on Tuesday and encouraged the community to get to the game.
"We are hoping for a bumper crowd of Novocastrians supporting local superstars like Emily van Egmond," she said. "It is great to have her back in Newcastle. We are so proud, not only of Emily's achievements, but also of the City of Newcastle and the people of Newcastle for getting behind women in sport and also major events.
"We know we can shape the way people think about their city, the way they feel about their city by attracting visitors and events like the Matildas."
