SOCCEROO Alex Brosque says Tuesday's 2014 World Cup qualifier away to Jordan is “massive” for Australia who he believes cannot afford to drop any more points.
The Socceroos have begun the campaign for Brazil 2014 with draws away to Oman and at home to Japan in their opening two games.
Japan have jumped the group with seven points from their opening three games to sit top, while Australia are third, locked on points with Iraq and Oman, while Jordan are last with one point from two games.
And ahead of Tuesday's game Brosque said the Socceroos needed the three points in Amman to get their campaign “back on track”.
“Mentally we're very focused and prepared for this game,” he said. “We know how hard it's going to be and we can't afford to drop any more points.
“This game is massive for us to get our campaign back on track, I think we'll be going out to get a very good win.”
He added: “(We expect it to be) similar to any away match in a qualfiier. We saw how hard it was away to Oman. The conditions are always tough.”
Brosque was stretchered off in the second half of Thursday's 3-0 friendly win over Lebanon with an ankle injury but said he would be fit and ready for Tuesday.
“I'm pretty good. I told Les (Gelis) not to worry about the stretcher, it was a bit too dramatic,” Brosque said.
“It was just a late challenge and more precautionary to come off. It's feeling better, but by Tuesday it should be fine.”
The Shimizu S-Pulse man added that the triumph over Lebanon, which ended a four-game winless run for the Socceroos, had been a big mental boost for the squad.
“I think we noticed it a bit in training. When you lose and don't win a few games in a row, it really makes a difference to the dynamics of the team and the way you train,” he said.
“Confidence wise it was massive for us just to go back to playing the way we have in the past. Getting a comfortable win has got everyone in high spirits and confident we can do the job on Tuesday.”
Luke Wilkshire, who provided the assist for Tim Cahill's opener against the Cedars, said the victory was the perfect result ahead of the Jordan clash.
“I think it was ideal preparation for the important game on Tuesday against Jordan. There were a lot of positives to come out of the game and was good to get back to winning ways,” he said.
“It's always good to win. It becomes natural and you need to get into that rhythm. It was good to score a few good goals and to get that feeling back and confidence back is very positive going into this crucial game.”
As for his expectations against Jordan, who the Socceroos have never faced at senior level, Wilkshire pointed to their quarter-final showing at the 2011 Asian Cup.
“We know it's going to be a difficult game,” he said. “We saw some of their peorfrmances at the Asian Cup, so we're going to be well prepared and we're looking forward to it.”
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