Defender Luke Wilkshire says the Socceroos know their job is far from done even though they will face a likely under-strength Iraq in their final World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
Buoyed by the 4-0 victory over Jordan in Melbourne on Tuesday night, the Socceroos go into their final qualifying match against world number 98 Iraq in Sydney as clear favourites.
Sitting bottom of the qualifying group and out of contention, Iraq is likely to field a weakened side.
Over 60,000 people will fill the Olympic stadium on Tuesday to cheer their national team to victory again, hoping for a qualifying spot for Brazil 2014 on the final whistle.
Wilkshire has made it clear the Socceroos are keenly aware it can still all go wrong.
Should the Socceroos get anything less than three points they could be overtaken into second place by Oman and forced into difficult play-off series against Asian and South American opponents.
“That’s the one thing (complacency) we will not allow to creep in,” Wilkshire said.
“People can get carried away after such a great result and now facing Iraq who are out of contention.
“But it’s a huge prize on the line, everyone knows that and anyone who knows football knows what can happen.
“They’ll play openly and freely without too many worries so all the pressure is on us.”
Wilkshire says Socceroos coach Holger Osieck and the senior members of the squad made sure the team was brought back down to earth after their rout of Jordan this week.
“He (Osieck) and all the senior players – everyone’s reinforced we’re only halfway there,” he said.
“We’ve still got all the pressure. We’ve got one more massive game. We got a great result and a couple of good performances but it all counts for nothing if we don’t win on Tuesday.”
Veteran Socceroo Mark Schwarzer, 40, will also be playing for a place in history as he vies to become the oldest goalkeeper to play in a World Cup.
Meanwhile, captain Lucas Neill fielded his first goal for the Socceroos on Tuesday, having had over 90 national appearances.
Socceroos coach Osieck expressed his relief at the healthy scoreline this week, saying it will give his side confidence against Iraq.
“Our team showed great unity and the score was definitely what we needed,” said Osieck.
“It was a good margin and a good clean sheet, compared to some of the other results which were pretty narrow.
The Socceroos play Iraq in Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on Tuesday 18 June. Kick off is at 7.30 pm and will be broadcast free-to-air on SBS 1.