City blew the Finals Series debutants to pieces in a first-half siege which saw Clare Emslie, Kyah Simon and Rebekah Stott goals establish a 3-0 lead inside 40 minutes.

The 24-year-old American striker showed her poacher’s instincts in the 14th minute to net her third goal of the season, a campaign which started late as she recovered from an ACL tear that forced her to spend six months on the sidelines.

After the Sky Blues took a slender lead into the sheds, Victory came out all guns blazing in the second half but the home side’s most dangerous threats – Natasha Dowie and Darian Jenkins – were kept shackled at Epping Stadium.

The pacey winger, who recently inked a deal with FA Women’s Super League outfit Everton, put the Matildas’ presence in April’s Tokyo 2020 draw beyond any doubt when she poked home a simple tap-in to make 2-0 on the night, and 7-0 on aggregate, in the 27th minute.

One of the few players in the Australian squad to have been absent from their travelling party for the Rio 2016 Games, Raso is now set to fulfill a long-held ambition by appearing at the Olympics.

The Matildas overcame a number of off-field complications, including playing Wednesday’s final match in a closed stadium due to Covid-19 precautions, but they were rarely tested on the pitch, going five games unbeaten to secure a second successive Olympic berth.

The 55th minute strike wasn’t enough to drag Vietnam to a maiden Olympic appearance – with their 2-1 defeat on the night part of a 7-1 aggregate loss – but it did provide evidence of significant progress for the Southeast Asian side.

They had been beaten 8-0 by the Australians less than two years ago, suffered a resounding 11-0 defeat back in 2015, and never had found the net against the Matildas at senior level, with Nhu’s delicate long-range strike earning the diminutive forward a slice of history.

Beaten 5-0 in the first leg in Newcastle five days earlier, Vietnam looked to be headed for another heavy defeat when they went 2-0 down before the half-hour mark, but the Southeast Asians rallied after half-time, scoring a first ever goal against the Matildas via captain Huynh Nhu’s 55th minute strike from distance.

The 2-1 result was a far cry from the 8-0 defeat Vietnam suffered at the hands of Australia less than two years ago, and Duc Chung said his side’s showing was a testament to their spirit.

Asako Takakura’s side had more possession and more shots at goal, but the Americans sealed the title at the round-robin event thanks to goals from Megan Rapinoe, Christen Press and Lindsday Horan.

For the second time in the tournament, Japan found the net through mercurial forward Mana Iwabuchi, who reduced the margin to 2-1 in the 58th minute, but the Asian champions were unable to salvage a positive result.