GEELONG, Australia -- If Tom Sermanni was never asked the question "Will you still be in charge of the Matildas' next game?" again, it'd still probably be too soon.
Such is the life of an interim coach and a football public hungry to learn who will be in charge as the team gears up for the home Women's Asian Cup in March 2026.
"I don't know. I'm still here. I haven't been tapped on the shoulder yet. So, as I've been doing since September, I'm just going with the flow. As long as I'm required, I'll be here," was his latest answer to the question following the Matildas' 6-0 demolition of Chinese Taipei.
The team's final game of the year felt celebratory in front of crowd of 30,097 people in Geelong. They looked like they were having fun. The vibe in the stands was one of excitement. Any concerns about fans not being able to see the Matildas they know and love from the World Cup were put to bed as new favourite players were unearthed.
All in all, the result and the performance meant the Matildas ended a rollercoaster 2024 on a high. After hitting arguably the lowest point of this four-year cycle with their group stage exit at the Olympics, they needed to.
Sermanni explained just how low the atmosphere was among the team when he first entered camp in October.
"When I [joined] the team in Switzerland for the first couple of team meetings, I thought I was turning up at a funeral, if I'm being honest," he said. "And what I've seen now is that I think the team has come back to life again. There's a bit more noise and a bit more enthusiasm around the team. For me that that's really important, and hopefully that'll continue."
The national team will not gather again until February for the SheBelieves Cup and while Sermanni will be there if required, there is no doubt that this window should be his last.
Not because he hasn't been good value. He has spoken candidly to media about where women's football is at in Australia and has been able to do so not just because he has the freedom of someone who won't be in the job long-term, but because he is one of the most well credentialed coaches Australia has ever had and can say these things from a place of authority, care, knowledge, and humour.
And it isn't because he hasn't achieved what he set out to do as the caretaker coach because he has. He's given the team a bit of love and care following a disappointing Olympic campaign but also gotten them "back on track."
"The expectations of this team were so high, and the pressures were so high, and when that happens, and you come off a tournament where things don't go well, there's an automatic downer," he explained.
"What's happened since then is that things have stabilised a little bit. And the team's kind of starting to come back to life again."
Throw in the work he has done in giving minutes to fringe players as well as doling out debuts and steering the team to three wins, one draw, and two losses and there really isn't much more you could ask of an interim manager.
Six players earned their first caps and, while the sample size is small, there is plenty to be excited about. Winonah Heatley looked comfortable as a No. 6 and comfortable as a centre-back across this mega window. Her vision and passing led to a Sharn Freier goal in this second match against Chinese Taipei.
Natasha Prior played with the calm assurance of someone with much more experience. She was commanding and physical while also scoring twice.
Daniela Galic, Leah Davidson, Laura Hughes, and Chloe Lincoln all got their first tastes of national team football. While the likes of Alex Chidiac, Emily Gielnik, Remy Siemsen, and Chloe Logarzo were welcomed back into the fold.
"Having a window like this has been quite fortunate in the sense that it's allowed us to get some quality game time for players that haven't had a lot of game time. And then to be able to see players that you think have done well and have stepped up. Quite a few of them have done that," Sermanni said.
"I think automatically now, if I'm sitting down and reassessing at the end of the year, and if I'm looking towards the SheBelieves Cup, there's much more competition for those 23 spots in the squad than I think there was a few months ago."
There was substance behind the good vibes. And even more impressively, Australian fans saw in real time how the team went from a clunky, disjointed 3-1 win in Melbourne to a much more put together and clinical 6-0 demolition in Geelong.
Barring some core pillars -- Emily van Egmond, Tameka Yallop, Mackenzie Arnold, and, for one last time, Clare Polkinghorne -- the Australian team looked new. And even these veterans looked good with Van Egmond putting in her best shift in a Matildas jersey in a long time with two assists, and Yallop's goal and assist earning her player of the match performance to cap off an impressive window.
She too could see the growth of these newer players and the need to continue expanding the playing pool by giving them the chance to show they are up to the level of international football.
"I know pretty much all of them from watching them come up through the A-League Women and I think everyone stepped up really well, especially in this second game," Yallop said. "I don't think we took a backwards step and that's really important with young ones coming in -- I think everyone did really well."
It is naïve to think the team's progress will continue in this linear fashion; progress is rarely pretty. And Chinese Taipei's world ranking of 41 needs to be taken into consideration. But Sermanni has given the new coach -- whoever they are and whenever they arrive -- some unbelievably good handover notes.
And that's why this window needs to be Sermanni's last. He has done what has been asked of him with aplomb. Any window Sermanni oversees in 2025 is one less opportunity for the new coach to get to work.
These two wins against Chinese Taipei are a perfect note to end on -- for both the Tom Sermanni Interlude and 2024.