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“I guess it's a little bit into the unknown, “ he said of the side's final and decisive group game in North Korea on Wednesday night.

“We haven't ventured over there before and we'll play them on an artificial pitch and it's supposed to be very cold over there.

"So a little bit into the unknown, but confident in our boys' ability to do what we have to do to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

“Arnie's a great coach and he's going to keep our feet on the ground. The boys really do know the importance of Wednesday night. It really is just a job half done."

The Sydney FC defender says he's had little experience on artificial surfaces apart from a recent three-day training camp in Sutherland, Sydney.

“Hopefully it won't be too much of an issue,” said Milligan.

The issue of playing against Asian sides has also been raised in the past and Milligan agrees that the Olyroos now come with added Asian know-how.

“The main thing about playing Asian football is the mentality," he added. "I thought on Saturday night the [Singaporean] referee was excellent.

"He set an early example when one of their players went down and he called for the game to continue. And it didn't happen again after that.

“That was the toughest thing for our team to get used to. I guess the antics of the opposition, their tactics in slowing the game down.

"I guess once we got used to that, and the different styles of refereeing, it makes our life a lot easier.”

Milligan is now tantalisingly close to achieving his dream. And he says the squad is good enough to go on and do even better if they qualify.

“This squad is unbelievable," he said. "I'm sure every single of the 24 players in the group has a massive future. I'm just glad I'm not Arnie having to pick an 11 then a 16.

“It's been nearly two years now that we've been going through little camps. The boys aren't going to throw that away."

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