The Adamstown Rosebud junior went into the two-match series with the world No.1 ranked side having made just three appearances for the Matildas.

In the lead-up to the series, Wheeler told the Newcastle Herald she would use every minute given to her by Gustavsson to "show what I can do".

"All I can do it make sure that every camp I'm doing the best I can and show what I have to offer," Wheeler said pre-series.

"This will be my third camp now and I hope it's not my last."

The 23-year-old definitely made a statement on Tuesday night, to the delight of 20,495 screaming fans who packed into McDonald Jones Stadium despite the threat of rain.

It was an attendance record for a Matildas match in Newcastle and no one could argue that every fan got their money's worth with an entertaining encounter.

They stadium heaved as fans urged the hosts to find that bit of something extra after going 1-0 behind in just the fourth minute of the match.

The scoreline looked certain to stick with the Americans largely a dominant force, that is until Wheeler entered the fray in the 86^th minute.

The defensive midfielder has been widely regarded as one of the most promising players in the W-League for the past few seasons and has gone from strength to strength since joining Danish giants Fortuna Hjorring.

Wheeler wasted no time before producing a "never say die" challenge to win the ball from Ashley Sanchez.

Three passes later, Kyah Simon came up with an 88th minute equaliser which sent the crowd into raptures.

That never-say-die attitude was described post-match by Gustavsson as "the DNA of this team".

"Sometimes that [tackle] isn't credited enough," Gustavsson said of Wheeler's effort.

"You see the goalscorer ... but the key to that goal is Clare Wheeler's tackle.

"We said we need to be more physical, win our fight plan, our one-on-one duels, and Clare was the game-changer that came in with that mindset. Without that tackle we wouldn't have scored."

It was the type of grit and determination the Australians had been missing for most of the night in the middle of the park.

Gustavsson used the two-match series with the USA and last month's two games against Brazil to experiment with players before finalises his squad for the AFC Women's Asian Cup, to be played in India in January.

With the Danish women's league on break for several weeks, Wheeler now waits.

"When I come back to Australia, I'm going to stay until that selection is announced," Wheeler told the Herald from Denmark ahead of the USA series.

The USA had beaten the Matildas 3-0 at Stadium Australia on Saturday night.

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