As a big fan of Sam Kerr's celebratory backflips, Matilda Cash was over the moon when she heard she would be meeting the captain of Australia's national soccer team.
Adorable and heartfelt words won the six-year-old the chance to be part of the FIFA Women's World Cup jersey presentation.
"The Matildas are the best football team in the world, and my name is Matilda just like them," she said in the application entered by her mother.
The family drove down from Kambah to Melbourne last week for the presentation on July 11.
One of the youngest girls there, Matilda was the first to pull out a name from the hat, and she picked Sam Kerr.
Her mother Bridie Cash is a player for the South Canberra Football Club, the 'Bees'. She was just as excited and nervous about the "incredible opportunity".
She said Matilda was scared at first when thousands of people cheered loudly for Kerr.
She didn't want her mother to leave her side so Ms Cash was close by, next to the stage.
But excitement soon overcame Matilda when the captain flashed her a smile and gave her a quick cuddle.
"She told me the captain told her she could be in the photo as well and put her arm around her," Ms Cash said.
She felt her daughter would look back fondly at this "amazing" moment in her childhood when the World Cup was played on home soil.
"I don't think Matilda realises how big a deal it actually is," Ms Cash said.
While Matilda loves hanging out with the Bees family, it's a "firm no" when her mother suggests playing. However, Ms Cash says there's still time.
She has been repeatedly asked if her daughter was named after the team. But she says it was actually tough to come up with a name, so she drew inspiration from her favourite children's novel Matilda by Roald Dahl.
The Matildas will face Ireland on Thursday in their World Cup opener.
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