Mentality to decide France vs. Australia quarterfinal clash - ESPN

ADELAIDE, Australia — All tournament long, this was the game France had been waiting for.

«This is why you play World Cups,» midfielder Grace Geyoro told ESPN. «Facing the [co-host nation Australia] in front of 50,000 fans for a place in the World Cup's final four? It doesn't get much bigger than that. I see it as a great opportunity.»

Geyoro and her teammates easily brushed aside Morocco in their round of 16 game, scoring three times in the opening 23 minutes on their way to a 4-0 win, and are thinking ahead to Saturday, in Brisbane, where they'll meet the tournament co-hosts.

«They are a very good team with great players,» Geyoro added. «We watched them against Denmark on Monday.

»They will be at home, but we are used to having fans against us in this tournament. The atmosphere will be incredible and it will be down to us to deal well with the pressure. We have to play with our qualities and if we do, we will be hard to beat."

The Matildas have no secrets to keep from the French, who lost a friendly match against striker Sam Kerr & Co. back on July 14. More worrying for the hosts is that Kerr, one of the world's best players and certainly the star of this Australia side, who has only played 10 minutes so far at this tournament due to a lingering calf injury.

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«The advantage of having played against them already is that we know exactly what to expect. We are ready and there will be no surprises. They play with intensity and we will have to impose our game,» said France forward Eugenie Le Sommer.

Forward Selma Bacha said the key will be in France's team unity, adding: «We know them really well. We won't make the same mistakes that we did in the friendly.