The players, the ones that did stop to talk to the media, were almost too distraught to speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They had just been humiliated 6-1 by a rampant English outfit at a sold-out Hindmarsh Stadium to end their FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup campaign, the first time they had failed to make it past the group stage in their history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So meek was their performance, they looked a mile away not only from the team that won the AFC Women\u2019s Asian Cup just 18 months prior, but an entire galaxy away from a team that was capable of defending that same title in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once a power of international women\u2019s football, the Steel Roses<\/em> trundled off the pitch looking like a side that had been left behind by the changing dynamics and shifting powerbase of women\u2019s football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But less than 12 months on from that humiliation, they depart Adelaide with vastly different emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While still disappointed after conceding a late equaliser against a lacklustre Matildas outfit, they walk away with a new-found sense of belief under new coach Ante Milicic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a word the players repeatedly echoed after their 1-1 draw with Australia at a sold out Adelaide Oval on Friday night, highlighting the impact the former Matildas coach has been able to have in such a short space of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n