He's seen a lot in more than half-a-century in professional soccer, but caretaker Matildas coach Tom Sermanni had to think twice about whether he'd ever witnessed a goal to match the out-of-this-worldie conjured up by Kyra Cooney-Cross in the win over Germany.
Asked where the 40-yarder ranked among the strikes he's watched all over the world from Caledonia to Canberra to Canada, the much-travelled 70-year-old was left smiling in Duisburg: "It's up there ... yeah, one of the great goals."
And as he admired the sheer vision and preposterous chutzpah needed to pull off the fabulous first-half equaliser in his side's 2-1 win, Sermanni was even more delighted to note that it had been executed by a player who he's convinced is going to be a gilt-edged asset for the Matildas for years to come.
"That just shows how much quality, ability and vision she has," Sermanni said of Cooney-Cross, who found the most extraordinary way to mark becoming the second quickest player in Matildas annals, after Caitlin Munoz, to win 50 caps.
It was her first goal for her country, and one of the best anyone's scored for their country.
"It's a real class goal," mused Sermanni, recalling the moment when, with Matildas still searching in vain for an equaliser, the ball fell to the Arsenal midfielder after the Germans had been robbed of possession just inside in their own half.
"She got herself in a position where she could have sort of taken it forward, but she spotted the goalkeeper off the line and finished perfectly. It was a very difficult finish, and I just saw some of the class there that Kyra has. One of the great goals."
Asked how key a 22-year-old with half-a-century of caps already to her name was going to be for years to come, Sermanni added: "She'll certainly be a very important player for us, because she's got all the qualities of a midfield player that you want at this level.
"She's comfortable in possession, she can dribble, she can pass with both feet. She can hit long passes, short passes, she's comfortable on the ball. So it's just a question of her continuing to develop, and continuing to mature, and she's on her way to being a world-class player."
Cooney-Cross, a breakthrough star at the World Cup, is increasingly imposing herself in the centre of the park at Arsenal and her link-up with clubmate Caitlin Foord was in evidence with one neat pass setting up a squandered first-half opportunity for the striker.
Foord has been, arguably, the Gunners' stand-out player in a difficult season and she was again brilliant for her country too, with Sermanni suggesting her all-round excellence in both attack and defence makes her "a complete player ... an absolute machine."
After the calamities of the Olympic campaign, this win felt as if the Matildas had hit a reset button.
"It wasn't just so much about the result today, because Germany are a fabulous side, and we were under some considerable pressure," said Sermanni.
"I think the great thing tonight is that we showed that character and determination, because we feel we've got footballers who can play good football. But tonight we didn't get an opportunity to play an awful lot of good football, but they hung in, and showed a great deal of determination and drive."
