Tears streaked down Emma Ilijoski and her teammates' faces as they boarded their flight home from the AFC Championships in Thailand.
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But it wasn't because they fell narrowly short of making the 2020 under-17s World Cup. The tournament marked the last time they played together under the Junior Matildas banner.
Ilijoski finished her Junior Matildas career on a high and helped Rae Dower's side reach the semi-finals at the AFC Championships last week.
It marked their equal best result at the under-16s tournament since Sam Kerr led the 'golden generation' of Junior Matildas to the semi-final in 2009.
The Australians finished fourth after falling to China 2-1 and missed out on a World Cup berth, but Ilijoski has her sights set on following in the footsteps of her predecessors.
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"It's the equal best result in a decade - when it was Sam Kerr and all those girls - so that was cool," Ilijoski said.
"Hearing those name names gives us a sense that [our dreams] are possible. They're our idols and knowing we have the possibility to get to that stage is really exciting.
"We had nothing to lose in the semi-final because we were already so proud of honoured. We didn't get the result but we're so happy with how we played."
It's been a whirlwind season for the 16-year-old footballer, who has been on four Junior Matildas tours within the past twelve months.
Ilijoski has toured Kyrgyzstan, Laos and the Pacific with the squad, but the AFC Championships was the longest and most grueling tour so far.
The Gungahlin United star hopes to join the Young Matildas program next year and is 'hungrier than ever' to return to the international stage.
Ilijoski could have a chance to play in the AFC Championships in 2021, with the under-19 and under-16 tournaments set to change to reflect the World Cup cycles.
The qualification tournaments will be played during the same year as the relative World Cup and will respectively become the under-20 and under-17 AFC Championships.
"It's more of a pathway towards the Matildas - it bridges the gap between ages," Ilijoski said.
"Hopefully I'll get to put the jersey on again but I'm going to continue working hard at home and those results can come."
Ilijoski was joined by Canberra United Academy's Mia McGovern in Thailand, who made her Junior Matildas debut in August.
Lucie Bertoldo
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
Lucie Bertoldo is a sports reporter for the Canberra Times.
