“The objective from day one when I came on board was to qualify for the quarter-finals and to finish top of the group,” said head coach Michael Matricciani. “That’s really important so we’re definitely very happy with that.

“Today we got pressed a bit more so having to play through that press, I thought we did that extremely well. There were a couple of moments where we got caught out but I think that was due to them being well organised in their press. I have to give them credit. But I think we have a long way to go. Once we do click, we will be opening up teams a lot more.”

Goals from Mariana Speckmaier, Tyla-Jay Vlajnic and Lourdes Bosch sealed top spot for Melbourne City and they will aim to close their campaign with victory against Kaya on Saturday. 

Kaya, however, will need to win to be completely sure of advancing with the Philippines side on two points. 

“The players played their hearts out, and it was a good showing for their performance. They were able to capitalise on many of their chances, even if we couldn't convert all of them into goals. I'm happy with their performance,” said head coach Let Dimzon.

“If we can play the way we did in the first game, I believe we have a chance. However, we need to strengthen our attack to stand a better chance of qualifying for the next stage.”

Bam Khatoon head coach Marziyeh Jafari was left to reflect on her team’s missed opportunities, with the Iranian side on one point going into Saturday’s tie against College of Asian Scholars.

“We lost many opportunities to score. The players tried, but I’m not happy with the second half because we missed too many chances,” said Jafari. “We need to work on that and gain more experience to better control situations during games. We have nothing to lose now, and we’ll do our best to get a good result and qualify.” 

While the top two teams from each of the three groups will earn automatic qualification, the two best third-placed sides will also advance to the quarter-finals, ensuring Saturday's final round of Group B fixtures will be enticing affairs.