It's been dubbed the group of death, but Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams is pleased to be facing two of the leading contenders for the Women's World Cup straight away.
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The 10th-ranked Matildas were handed a difficult path for next year's tournament in Canada in June, getting placed alongside world No. 1 the United States, European powerhouse Sweden (ranked five) and nine-time African champions Nigeria (ranked 35).
The top two teams from each group progress to the round of 16, with the six best, third-placed teams also qualifying.
Should the Matildas finish second in the group, they would likely face the sixth-ranked Brazil, while a date with two-time champion Germany could be on the cards if they finish third.
Williams has missed the entire W-League season recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but is confident of returning in time for the World.
The Canberra United custodian believes having seven Australians playing in the American professional league – the National Women's Soccer League – will be an advantage against the US.
"It's probably the most entertaining group out of the whole competition, but of all those teams I'd rather see them all in a group game than in a play-off," Williams said.
"They have an X-factor in a play-off and maybe we can catch them out in a group stage.
"We've played with and against these players for the last three years.
"We know these players a lot that we're going to be versing, so it's probably easier in that way than the unknown."
Williams has been sidelined since rupturing her ACL while playing for the Western New York Flash this year.
She is four months into her recovery and is optimistic of being fit to resume playing in April.
"That's the plan at the moment, do all my rehab correctly and get ticked off in the right areas and it should be all right," Williams said.
"I'm at the AIS five or six times a week with my rehab.
"I have someone looking after me in everything I do, from running, to gym, to goalkeeping, to physio and probably the best support I can have in Australia.
"It's definitely a month by month, week by week monitoring, but I'm riding on as much luck as I can to get back for it."
The Matildas will begin their 2015 FIFA World Cup against the US on June 8 in Winnipeg before playing Nigeria on June 12 at the same venue.
Australia's final world cup group match will be against Sweden on June 16 in Edmonton.
