"Wasn’t it in your time Dad, when women weren’t allowed to play soccer?"
Eleven-year-old Zaria was one of the many young girls at Sydney’s live viewing site for Australia’s winning match against Ireland in the Women’s World Cup.
The Matildas kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win thanks to step-in captain Steph Catley's penalty in the second half.
Australia's skipper Sam Kerr was out just minutes before the match due to a calf injury.
"My dad - he used to say only men were allowed to play soccer,” Zaria told AAP on Thursday.
"But women are very strong and the Matildas represent our country.
"So yes, I'm very proud of Australia."
Amid campaigns for equal pay and conditions for female athletes, the 2023 World Cup is fast becoming the best argument for women’s sports.
Close to 1.4 million tickets have been snapped up, surpassing previous tournament records.
More Matildas jerseys have sold than the Socceroos managed during and since the 2022 men's World Cup, according to sportswear brand Nike.
Zaria's dad, Oscar Sanchez, says it's important young girls see there is support for women to achieve whatever they set their hearts to.
"I'm so so happy that Australia is actually doing this - putting the support, the money to back up the future of our women," he told AAP.
"I was born in Colombia and there, football is a religion.
"But this level of support for a women's tournament - I had not seen this before.
"I just want my kids to love football as much or hopefully more than I do."
A total of 75,784 fans watched the Tillies begin their World Cup campaign against the Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia, a national record crowd for women's football.
"Oh, that was so exciting and it makes me want to play soccer," Matildas fan Jenny Nguyen told AAP.
"I feel like it's really bringing people together.
"It was so different to be in a live atmosphere and to see the crowd cheering and even the Irish crowd booing at the wrong moments, but they were still there."
The match was initially scheduled to take place at the 42,000-capacity Sydney Football Stadium, but Football Australia (FA) and FIFA agreed to take a chance and flip the game to the bigger venue.
"At the time there were a lot of questions about whether we’d sell this out," FA chief executive James Johnson told AAP.
"We took a decision to shift to Stadium Australia and I’m so delighted to see this wonderful stadium sell out.
"It actually brings a tear to my eye."
A FIFA live site has been set up in Sydney’s Tumbalong Park for fans who missed out on tickets.
The live site includes a museum dedicated solely to women’s footballing history - featuring an American Mia Hamm Barbie doll, the stolen 1985 Sweden trophy, and Sam Kerr’s 2019 hat-trick armband.
More than 16,000 fans from overseas and interstate will travel to NSW during the tournament, generating an expected $21 million in visitor expenditure for the state.
But Sydney isn’t the only city getting in on the action.
All of Australia’s major cities, including Melbourne’s iconic football hub Federation Square, are turning green and gold with dedicated live sites.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sent a message of support to the Matildas ahead of their opening game.
"The whole of Australia is cheering you on tonight," he said in a video.
"You’ll do us proud."
AAP’s reporter was a guest of Destination NSW.
