PERTH -- Socceroos head coach Tony Popovic says his side are prepared and focused ahead of Thursday's crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier against Japan in Perth -- a match that could seal automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament.
A win over Japan would all but guarantee second place in Group C and a spot in North America, with the Socceroos currently holding a three-point lead and superior goal difference over Saudi Arabia, who they face in Jeddah next week.
Popovic said his players were completely focused ahead of what could be a monumental night for Australia.
"We certainly are aware of what these games mean to us and mean to Australia and to every football fan out there supporting the Socceroos," Popovic said.
"We know what we need to do -- but we need to put it into action. We're confident we can do that tomorrow night."
While a draw could also be enough -- if Saudi Arabia fail to beat Bahrain in a match that kicks off two hours after the Perth fixture -- there's every chance Australia will still need to avoid defeat in Jeddah on matchday 10.
There are other permutations as well, which become irrelevant if the Socceroos beat Japan, who are already qualified, and bring an inexperienced team to Australia, with only seven players holding more than 10 international caps.
"We're just focusing on the now. Now is Japan. We are prepared well, we understand the magnitude of the game," Popovic said.
"You have emotion attached to that. You have passion attached to that. You have the honour and responsibility of representing your country.
"But when that whistle blows, I'm very confident the players will go out there and execute in a very calm, composed manner with confidence of winning the game."
If the Socceroos manage to beat Asia's highest-ranked side, it would also snap a 16-year losing run against the Blue Samurai.
"At some point, Australia will beat Japan, I have no doubt. We have the chance to do that tomorrow and we want to take the opportunity," Popovic said.
Qualification would mark a remarkable turnaround for the Socceroos under Popovic, who replaced Graham Arnold in September last year after the side started their round three qualification campaign poorly with a loss to Bahrain and a draw against Indonesia.
Automatic qualification looked unlikely at the time, but the Socceroos are unbeaten since, including a 1-1 draw away to Japan in Popovic's second game in charge.
He believed the squad had come a long way since that performance in Saitama.
"We set out that as a target to be in this position that we can qualify automatically. We are doing what we aim to do now. We just need to finish the job off," he said.