The Socceroos have defeated Iraq 2-0 in Perth.
It was nil-all at half-time of the match, raising fears among Australian fans that the opening game of the final round might prove to be an unexpected roadblock.
And Iraq has been a tough opponent for the Socceroos over the last decade or more.
But improvement came almost immediately after play resumed, leading to the first goal in the 58th minute of play.
Here is how Fox Sports called it.
"Here's Juric ... eager to atone ... good ball in ... Luongo ... doesn't miss this time! Australia leads, and it has been coming for the last few minutes!"
It was striker Tomi Juric, setting up a goal for midfielder Massimo Luongo.
Juric went on to miss one chance to double the lead, but, shortly after, he made no mistake from close range from a set piece.
Here is how Fox Sports called it.
"Aaron Mooy's corner ... That's the second goal! Tomi Juric does have his name on the scoresheet now! From similar close range as to where he missed a few minutes ago, but he didn't miss that time. Two-nil Australia!"
That was all that was required to seal the three competition points.
Speaking to Fox Sports after the match, Juric credited more patient play in attack in the second half for Australia's success.
"I mean, we showed in the first half that we could move the ball. And, sometimes, we got a bit impatient and forced the pass, and we lost possession too easily. But we showed in the second half that, if we keep our patience, we get our chances, and we can finish them off."
Patience clearly was a virtue drummed into the Australians by their coach, Ange Postecoglu.
He told Fox Sports he was not worried, despite Australia taking nearly an hour to score in a game in which they were clear favourites.
Postecoglu says it was all reasonably part of a plan.
"They (Iraq) were doing a lot of running, just trying to block gaps for us. Now, they're human beings, they're not robots. At some point, they're not going to make that run to block a gap, and we'll be able to punish them. And we still had opportunities in the first half. A lot of everything I do is about wearing down oppositions that want to sit back (and defend). If they're going to sit off, we're going to make them work. It may not hurt them on the scoreboard early, but eventually, we believe we'll get on top."
The next challenge for the Socceroos is against the United Arab Emirates in the early hours of next Wednesday morning, Australia time, in Abu Dhabi.
And it is a challenge that may just have become a lot tougher than expected, with the Emiratis starting their campaign with a surprise victory against group heavyweight Japan, in Japan.
Ahmed Khalil scored both UAE goals in the 2-1 victory.
But, again, Postecoglu says it was foreseeable, that he is not surprised the Emiratis beat Japan.
And he has told Fox Sports he has viable options for shuffling the Socceroos' starting lineup if he needs to for next week's big match.
"UAE is a good side. They proved it in the (2015) Asian Cup. And they're a side that has been together for a very long time, and their coach has been with them for a very long time. We're looking forward to going over there. We've got a few things up our sleeve, and, hopefully, we can take the game to them. You know, we've got some good depth nowadays. And, looking at our bench, there's quite a few options there for us to change it up a little bit. First thing is, we'll see how the boys recover, we'll analyse the game, and then we'll work towards setting the team up to get the job done over there."
The most obvious option for changing it up is striker Tim Cahill, who was not required at all against Iraq.
The heat in Abu Dhabi could play a big role in the game next week.
It is a night-time kick-off, and the minimum expected temperature is still 33 degrees.
Australia is in a group with the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Japan, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
Each team plays each of the others both at home and away.
The top two teams out of the six in the group automatically qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
