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Sharn Freier was nearby at a concert during Australia's dramatic penalty shootout win over France in 2023 but has emerged as a real prospect for the future.

When the Matildas won the Women's World Cup penalty shootout against France that catapulted them to a new level of superstardom, Sharn Freier was at a country music concert 20km across town.

Brisbane local Freier, the Matildas' latest revelation, was in the stands as Australia lost to Nigeria at Suncorp Stadium - but wasn't even in the crowd for arguably their biggest ever result.

"I was at a Luke Coombs concert," she admitted.

"To be fair, I watched the penalty shootout. They played it at the concert. So I didn't miss it!"

Nobody is more surprised than Freier, 23, at her rapid rise this year, which included playing at the Olympics and scoring in back-to-back starts against Taiwan.

"I was a fan girl myself," she said.

"I went to one of the Suncorp games in Brisbane ... and I was one of the ones sitting in the stands with my family.

"To be honest, I didn't think playing for the Matildas (was an option) - I wanted to, 100 per cent, but did I think it was going to happen this fast? Absolutely not.

"It's been a very big year for me personally ... I get lost for words sometimes when I still sit back and think about it."

Forget fan girl - Freier is quickly becoming a fan favourite.

The left-footed winger has a wicked turn of speed, slaloms between defenders and takes on opponents at every opportunity.

"Sharn's Sharn. I don't know how to describe her. You just have to watch her play," teammate Tameka Yallop said.

"You never really know what she's going to pull out of the hat, which is why it's so exciting to watch her play."

Interim coach Tom Sermanni, who debuted Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord, loves Freier's X-factor.

"If you look at one of those wildlife films, she looks like one of those lions that just sort of float about, and then suddenly there's a bit of prey, and then whoosh, they're off and they get them," Sermanni said.

"You just never know what she's going to do.

"She looks like she just lobs along, but then her pace is so deceptive, and her ability to go past players. So she's got real raw potential.

"... When you start to look at the ingredients that make an international player, and we look at the ingredients in a player that can make a difference, I think she's got all those parts."

Freier isn't looking too far ahead, but is getting used to her increasing profile.

"In terms of the media, my mum just like puts it in my face," she said.

"She's like 'look at this!'

"It is also a little bit nice to see and it goes back to maybe believing in myself a little bit more and being like 'OK, this is pretty cool.'"