With Sam Kerr out for the year, Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson was tasked with the tremendously difficult task of finding a substitute. 

An unusual replacement provided a solution: 35-year-old and previously retired Michelle Heyman.

In her first international football match in five years, and despite scepticism, Heyman delivered a breakout game for the Matildas and helped secure the team's ticket to the Paris Olympics with the first winning goal against Uzbekistan.

With an inspiring return to international football and the Matildas, Heyman champions an inspiring road to Paris after competing for the Matildas since 2010. 

As Gustavsson told the Guardian earlier this year, "it’s not about your age, it’s about the quality you have as a footballer".

“Heyman has played herself into this team the way she is playing, she’s in tremendous form and she’s scoring for fun.”

Heyman grew up playing soccer on the men's sides, since women's teams were few and far between. With her career taking off in the 2008–09 season, she was awarded the Golden Boot for her eleven goals for the Westfield A-League. 

Since then, she has been recognised internationally, joining Brøndby IF in Denmark in 2012, then Western New York Flash in 2015, before returning back to Canberra United in 2016.

Playing on the international stage, she went on to play five games in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. 

In the following year, she was selected to play in the 2016 Summer Olympics, where the Matildas were eliminated in the quarter finals. 

Monash University Soccer Club told MOJO News that Heyman's experience on the international stage could prove to be an advantage for the Matildas. 

“Heyman could serve as a mentor to younger Matildas - helping them develop both on and off the field,” the club said.

“Heyman, being an experienced player that has played at World Cups, could mean that there is a desire to bring in a player with experience and leadership qualities. 

“Heyman’s presence can contribute to the overall growth and development of the team.”

With the Matildas ticket to Paris now secured, the club said, the striker's inspiring reintroduction to the world stage could ease previous concerns over the team's reliance on Kerr.