"You have to be prepared to suffer".
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The Socceroos' date with World Cup destiny arrives on Tuesday morning and former Australian defender Luke Wilkshire believes the key to beating Peru will be their ability to deal with sustained periods of pressure in defence.
Peru beat the Socceroos 2-0 at the 2018 tournament in Russia and here we are again in a qualifier, as the fifth-placed South American team against the Asian play-off winner.
Wilkshire said the Socceroos' ability to withstand Peru's build-up and attacking raids will determine whether they take their place in Group D in Qatar in November, alongside France, Denmark and Tunisia.
"No doubt there are going to be times where you have to be prepared to suffer and defend well," Wilkshire said.
"The thing about Peru is they're a good team, they don't rely on individuals to win games. They work together well and we're going to have to keep finding ways to deal with it."
After Australia beat the United Arab Emirates 2-1 in the Asian third-place play-off to keep their hopes alive, Wilkshire declared he'd keep Illawarra-bred defender Kye Rowles in the starting line-up and bring Trent Sainbury back in place of Bailey Wright.
"Kye's been great, he handled the occasion against UAE really well," he said.
"Having a natural left-sided centre back adds value to the team and he's got a good head on his shoulders, so he'll go into that environment full of confidence."
Scott Chipperfield, who played with Wilkshire at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournament, said making it to Qatar is vitally important to both the Socceroos' future and game in Australia.
"There's a lot at stake," he said. "There's financial gain from making a World Cup, but it's a huge boost to football in Australia, especially with the women's World Cup coming to Australia next year."
It's a busy week for Wilkshire, who coaches the Wollongong Wolves in a NSW National Premier League battle against league leaders Sydney Olympic on Monday afternoon, then is part of the Network 10 coverage of the Socceroos game on Tuesday morning, before facing an Australia Cup showdown on Thursday.
The Wolves will meet North West Sydney, the winner to earn a spot in the open knockout rounds, potentially against A-League opposition.
"It's a make-or-break week," Wilkshire said.
"We've shown we can match it with the top teams, we were disappointed to concede a late goal against Olympic last time, consistency has cost us this year.
"We'll see how we come through after [Monday] but being still in the Cup has been a big boost for the club and we want to get through to the next stage."
WORLD CUP
Qualifier, Tuesday (4am)
AUSTRALIA v PERU
TV: Live on Network 10
NSW NPL
Monday (4pm)
SYDNEY OLYMPIC v WOLLONGONG WOLVES
Belmore Sports Ground
AUSTRALIA CUP
Wednesday (7.15pm)
ST GEORGE CITY v WOLLONGONG UNITED
Penshurst Park, Sydney
Thursday (7.30pm)
NORTH WEST SYDNEY SPIRIT v WOLLONGONG WOLVES
Christie Park, Sydney
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