The win meant Australia rounded out their campaign with 26 goals and five clean sheets – with latecomers to the squad Michelle Heyman and Kaitlyn Torpey among those who impressed in Tashkent and Melbourne against Uzbekistan.

Despite coming into the tie with a 3-0 advantage from the first leg, the Matildas stamped their authority from the start, taking a 8-0 lead by half-time in an impressive performance.

“You could sense the focus in the group when the game started today. They were on a mission. We came out flying from minute one,” said Gustavsson, whose side did not concede a single goal on their qualifying Road to Paris 2024.

“Now we’re sending messages to the opposition that, ‘Okay if you press us, we’ll go behind you’ because we can use the space and speed. And if you park the bus, we will open it up because we have the tools to do that now.”

Gustavsson has less than five months to decide his starting XI ahead of the Olympics.

“You know how big I am on connection and chemistry. I also need to see who fits to play together. I was extremely impressed tonight to see the connection between Mini (Katrina Gory) and Michelle (Heyman). Mini I think showed us her ability to be in between lines, in tight spaces and play players in, and make runs from deep in behind the backline.

“It’s not just about the quality of one individual player, it’s about the chemistry between players. So when I select a squad for the Olympics, I might leave some players out of that roster that are better individually but it’s about building the best team, getting the right players in the right position with the right mindset and then having the chemistry out there.”

Even though Australia were without the likes of Sam Kerr and Kyah Simon to spearhead the attack, Heyman stepped up into that role despite retiring from international football in 2019.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve been pushing so hard to try and get back into this squad and as soon as I got the email to say, ‘You’re back in’, I wasn’t letting it go. I’ll do everything I can and work as hard as possible so that’s what I’ve been trying to do,” said the 35-year-old Heyman, who returned to action in the first leg.

“When I’m feeling as happy as I am, my football just flows and I become one with the game. I’m lucky enough that I’ve spent so many years within this team prior that I know the girls, I know how they play and I know the system.

“I’ve done my research and I know what I need to do to try and secure a spot in this team and I’ve just been pushing myself as hard as I can to show people that I’m capable.”