Lydia Williams puts Canberra's goalkeeper production line down to two things

Williams has led the way, and her path is closely being followed by the next generation in Sally James and Chloe Lincoln between the posts.

It comes down to two things for Williams, the fact there is no AFLW side in the capital, and the territory's population size.

"There's no AFLW," Williams chuckled.

"That might be it actually, but there is such a small pool, and high elite pool, because Canberra is so small so you're in a pretty intense training set up right from the beginning.

"I was really lucky to be training with some of the best goalkeepers and goalkeeper coaches right from the start."

The 34-year-old is due to make history, and become the first Matildas goalkeeper to reach 100 caps, on Sunday morning against Spain.

If it's not against the European powerhouse side, it may come against Portugal days later.

But thankfully Williams has no preference, as she can not even believe her 100^th cap is within reach.

"For me, it's an honor no matter what," she said.

"If someone told me there's a chance you'd get to 100 caps, I'd have been like 'you're lying'.

"I'm really grateful, taking it in my stride but still trying to just be the best I can be by learning and developing in any way possible."

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While her future in the national team remains clear, her next move in clubland remains less so.

Williams finished her contract with Arsenal back in early May, but off-season contract talks in Europe are continuing.

"I'm still in contract negotiations," she said. "I'm going to be on that side of the world, I just don't know where yet."

Williams' milestone will be reached without many of the players she has shared her Matildas journey with. Tony Gustavvson has opted to rest key players Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy, Caitlin Foord and more for the two fixtures.

The Canberran did not mince words about how hard it would be against the two European outfits, as she herself is coming off a month-long break spent at home in the ACT. Spain and Portugal, meanwhile, have been preparing for the Euros.

"It's a good preparation for us. Let's be honest and real: it's a team that is going into a major tournament versus a team that's coming off a break," Williams said.

"Right now, it's going to be a good indication of seeing how these teams are lining up for a major tournament.

"We see the gaps and what we need to make sure that we are improving and ahead of the game when it comes to 2023.

"It's going to be more, I guess, of a learning, educational tool rather than 'let's go out there and win the game'."

Away from the field, Williams is also doing important work. The proud Noongar woman is raising awareness and funds to train Indigenous healthcare workers to address the mounting healthcare crisis in the Northern Territory.

She has teamed up with the Bridging the Gap Foundation to raise funds for the Ramaciotti Regional and Remote Health Sciences Training Centre to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the health sector.

Williams has witnessed first hand the inequalities between healthcare in Australian cities and regional/remote areas during her youth in Western Australia, before moving to the capital.

"The further inland you go in Australia, the harder it is to reach those places," she said.

"Being around it, and being able to travel into the communities when I was really young and seeing first hand the lack of healthcare there, compared to the opportunities that I've had in professional sport, and living in Canberra and then London, and some of the biggest cities in the world.

"The opportunity to have people that are local, and give them those opportunities, to provide that care was really important to me.

"To employ people that are living there, know the land and the people, and have that kind of trust and relationship already is important in any kind of organization, but especially when it comes to Indigenous people."