The Socceroos' World Cup hopes could go a long way to being decided in the next week, but Tim Cahill insists it's not panic stations in camp just yet.
The Australian team has started to assemble in Canberra ahead of Thursday's match with Kyrgyzstan, before heading overseas to play Bangladesh next Tuesday.
But ever since the Asian champions went down to nemesis Jordan in Amman last month, the two fixtures have taken on extra importance.
The 2-0 loss has left them lagging in second place in their qualifying group and chasing leaders Jordan, who are four points ahead having played one match more.
Leaking points to either Kyrgyzstan or Bangladesh could put the Socceroos' 2018 World Cup qualification at risk, with only the winners of the eight groups of five countries in this stage guaranteed progression to the final group phase of Asian qualifying.
If Australia finishes second, coach Ange Postecoglou's men would need to be one of the four second-placed teams with the best record to move further.
But there is no cause for alarm from Cahill's point of view, the Socceroos great saying that if anything the "little mishap" against Jordan galvanised the squad to bounce back.
"We've lost one game in the handful of games that we've played - it's not panic stations," he said.
"It was away to Jordan. We would have liked at least to get a draw from it, and we didn't.
"We're looking forward, and I hope we can put it right as soon as possible.
"We had a wake-up call against Jordan, which is probably something we needed.
"I'm always confident in this group of lads and also the staff, purely because of what we've achieved in the past and what's expected of us in the future.
"We're under a little bit of pressure, but it's nothing we haven't faced in the past.
"We can only put it right by getting a win."
The Socceroos ground out a 2-1 victory over previously unheralded Kyrgyzstan in June under tough conditions in the largely unknown city of Bishkek, on a bumpy pitch and in front of a raucous crowd.
Cahill acknowledged their foes turned out to be tougher opposition than expected, but indicated they were more prepared this time.
"Kyrgyzstan on the counter-attack are very good. (They have) a lot of technical players, the wingers, the midfield is stacked, defensively they were very strong," Cahill said.
"We know we're going to be up against a tough one in Kyrgyzstan, whether we're playing at home or not."
The mostly fit squad will be bolstered by the return of skipper Mile Jedinak and goalkeeper Mat Ryan from injury.
However they were dealt a blow on Monday, with defensive backbone Matthew Spiranovic ruled out with a calf injury.
The 27-year-old's absence will open up an opportunity for Alex Wilkinson or Trent Sainsbury to join likely starter Bailey Wright in central defence.
