To see the final Socceroos training session and press conference...

The magnitude of that defeat has sent a shudder through the team, the fans and the media alike and there is a real tension in the air heading into this crucial match, where anything less than a win will see the Socceroos crash out of the tournament.

While mathematically, a draw would be sufficient to keep the Aussies alive, the goal difference from the Germany match means it would be an almost impossible task and require a thumping victory over Serbia in the final game.

To put it simply, nothing went right in the Germany game as Australia were exposed for pace at the back, outplayed in the midfield and offered just two shots on target upfront. To compound the woes, Tim Cahill was sent off meaning Australia's equal leading goalscorer in the qualification campaign will be absent from the most important game in the past four years.

Cahill is not the only absentee from this match with Vince Grella to miss with knee soreness, meaning coach Pim Verbeek needs to make a reshuffle in the midfield.

With the team crying out for goals, Harry Kewell is set to play his first match in six months, but just where he lines up is the point of contention. He could come straight in for Cahill and play upfront, or Verbeek could opt for Josh Kennedy to step into that role and push Kewell into the midfield with Brett Emerton and Richard Garcia.

Jason Culina, who played a more advanced role with mixed success against Germany, will likely drop back to defensive midfield along Carl Valeri in order to provide a better path forward through the middle of the park.

While Australia's defence was exposed against Germany, Verbeek has little option but to stick with the same back four. Michael Beauchamp could come in at the centre of defence, but the Socceroos would not want to experiment with a new central defensive pairing at such a crucial point.

Scott Chipperfield had a poor game defensively against Germany, but his deputy David Carney is an attacking minded player, unlikely to be risked from the start.

The two most crucial players for Australia will be Luke Wilkshire and Brett Emerton. Wilkshire's delivery from set pieces will be a key avenue to goal, while Emerton's energy and industry in the middle of the park will be important to creating opportunities from open play.

Of course it is not all about Australia, with Ghana coming into this match with plenty of confidence after a deserved 1-0 win over Serbia in their opening match.

Striker Asamoah Gyan was ultra impressive for the Black Stars, capping off his strong performance with a late penalty. However, there was a strong reliance on the Rennes star, who had all three of Ghana's shots on target for the match.

The majority of Ghana's play in that Serbia match came down the right hand side of the field, and Chipperfield can expect to be tested out. Midfielder Andre Ayew, whose father Abedi Pele is an African football legend, was a constant menace against Serbia and will be the main provider of chances.

Captain John Mensah, currently at Sunderland, martialled an excellent defensive performance against Serbia with the entire Ghanaian back four conceding just four fouls between them for the match.

Mensah and fellow defender John Paintsil both played in the Ghana side which lost 1-0 to the Socceroos in Sydney in May 2008. Ghana has only beaten Australia once in six previous encounters and that was back in 1995.

However, the concern for Australia is that Ghana's coach Milan Rajevac left arguably the Black Stars' two best players Stephen Appiah and Sulley Muntari out of the starting line-up for the Serbia match and they will be fresh and ready to torment the Aussies in Rustenburg.

Ghana, who went within a game of winning the African Nations Cup in January with basically an under 21 squad, have one of the youngest teams in the World Cup and that energy will make it very hard to hold out.

However, Australia have experience on their side and their back to the wall. It's now or never.

Head-to-head

Played 6: Wins: Australia 4, Ghana 1, Draw: 1

Previous meetings
Australia 1, Ghana 0, Sydney. Friendly, May 2008
Australia 1, Ghana 1, London, Friendly. November 2008
Australia 2, Ghana 0, Durban, Friendly, September 1996
Australia 0, Ghana 1, Perth, Friendly, June 1995
Australia 1, Ghana 0, Adelaide, Friendly, June 1995
Australia 2, Ghana 1, Sydney, Friendly, June 1995

Past five matches:
Australia:
Australia 0, Germany 4, Durban, World Cup, June 13, 2010
Australia 1, United States 3, Johannesburg, June 5, 2010
Australia 1, Denmark 0, Johannesburg, June 1, 2010
Australia 2, New Zealand 1, Melbourne, May 24, 2010
Australia 1, Indonesia 0, Brisbane, March 3, 2010

Ghana
Serbia 0, Ghana 1, Pretoria, World Cup, June 13, 2010
Ghana 1, Latvia 0, London, June 5, 2010
Netherlands 4, Ghana 1, Rotterdam, June 1, 2010
Ghana 1, Burkina Faso 0, Accra, March 28, 2010
Burkina Faso, 0, Ghana 0, Ouagadougou, March 13, 2010

Australian squad:

1. Mark Schwarzer, 2.Lucas Neill, 3.Craig Moore, 4.Tim Cahill, 5.Jason Culina, 6. Michael Beauchamp, 7.Brett Emerton, 8.Luke Wilkshire, 9.Josh Kennedy, 10.Harry Kewell, 11.Scott Chipperfield, 12.Adam Federici, 13.Vince Grella, 14.Brett Holman, 15.Mile Jedinak, 16.Carl Valeri, 18.Eugene Galekovic, 19.Richard Garcia, 20.Mark Milligan, 21.David Carney, 23.Mark Bresciano, 25.Dario Vidosic, 31.Nikita Rukavytsya,

Ghana squad:
Goalkeepers: Richard Kingston (Wigan, England), Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals), Stephen Ahorlu (Hearts of Lions)

Defenders: Samuel Inkoom (Basle, Switzerland), Hans Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Lee Addy (Bechem Chelsea), John Mensah (Sunderland, England), Rahim Ayew (Zamalek, Egypt), Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim, Germany), John Pantsil (Fulham, England), Jonathan Mensah (Granada, Spain)

Midfielders: Dede Ayew (Arlese Avignon, France), Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese, Italy), Stephen Appiah (Bologna, Italy), Anthony Annan (Rosenborg, Norway), Sulley Muntari (Inter Milan, Italy), Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (Al Sadd, Qatar), Derek Boateng (Getafe, Spain), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth, England)

Strikers: Prince Tagoe (Hoffenheim, Germany), Asamoah Gyan (Rennes, France), Dominic Adiyiah (AC Milan, Italy), Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda, Holland)

To see the final Socceroos training session and press conference...