Former Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou is no stranger to high-pressure World Cup playoff games.
Postecoglou guided Australia past Honduras in a two-legged tie to secure qualification to the 2018 World Cup, before resigning shortly after.
The Socceroos once again find themselves in a precarious position in World Cup qualifying.
Graham Arnold’s side must beat the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday morning (AEST) and Peru in one-off ties in Doha to book their ticket to the Qatar showpiece in November.
Postecoglou says Australia shouldn’t take participating at World Cups for granted after qualifying for the past four tournaments.
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“Irrespective of what’s happened, we’ve got two games to get to a World Cup,” Postecoglou told Sportsday.
“You can’t get any more focused or clear-eyed than that and that has to be the thought process around the Socceroos camp.
“I’m sure it is with Graham Arnold and the players. They know they’re two games away from another World Cup.
“We shouldn’t take them for granted because Scotland lost to Ukraine, and we’ve got four boys in the Scotland squad.
“They haven’t been to a World Cup since 1998.
“When you miss out, that’s when you realise just how big of an event it is and I don’t want us to miss out this time.”
Simon Hill, the co-host of 1170’s The Global Game, is 50-50 on Australia’s chances of beating the UAE.
“It’s been a nervy campaign,” Hill told SEN Afternoons.
“The UAE are a decent side. They’re not one of the world’s best, but equally they’ve got players that can hurt us.
“We’ve got good players as well, but I think it’s potentially a 50-50 proposition.
“Let’s hope we fall the right side of the ledger and then it’s on to Peru.”
The Socceroos’ clash with the UAE starts at 4am (AEST).