With France resembling Napoleon's army at Waterloo and England also divided, one thing is now becoming clear at the FIFA World Cup - the heat is on and the pressure is starting to show on everyone.
After a spirited draw with Ghana in Rustenberg, the Socceroos still have it all to play for. They must not combust like France and England, who have shown what not to do at the FIFA World Cup.
While a Socceroos win might not be good enough to get to the next stage, it will help salvage something for our team, though many critics will likely condemn this campaign as an utter failure.
No matter the result, the Socceroos must play with the same passion, commitment and spirit they showed against Ghana - or, to quote the great Pakistan all-rounder Imran Khan, "we must fight like cornered tigers".
Make no mistake, Serbia, who lost just two of their 10 games to qualify, are beatable. New Zealand beat them 1-0 in a warm-up and they lost 1-0 against an ordinary Ghana side which was lucky to draw with the 10-man Socceroos.
Coached by Radomir Antic, who is the only manager to have taken charge of all three Spanish giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, they pulled off a remarkable win against a 10-man Germany to keep themselves in the tournament.
Having 10 players who have won various championships around Europe will help their cause in what is a must-win game for them as well. Serbia will start slight favourites but so did Croatia against Australia four years ago.
The only difference is that we needed only a draw where this time we have to win.
Serbia are a tall side and must be watched very carefully at set plays, especially striker Nikola Zigic of Valencia, who stands an incredible 202cm. Dejan Stankovic, coming off a treble-winning season with Inter Milan, is their midfield talisman.
At the back, Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is a tower of strength and reliability.
On their day Serbia can beat anyone. Still, there is a feeling Serbia can crack under pressure.
I strongly believe the Socceroos can deal with the challenge.
If there is any game to play a higher defensive line, it is this one.
When a team has a towering striker who is not the quickest, as in the case with Zigic, the back four should play as high up the park as possible.
Also, when somebody jumps with Zigic, we must have someone drop back five metres to cover any flick-ons. This will nullify any deep-running opponent.
We must make the midfield a minefield by closing down the dangerous Stankovic and give his teammates no time to lift their heads or space to move. This will force them to hit high and hopeful balls to Zigic.
We can expose them at the back with quick passing in between their full-backs and centre-backs. However, Pim Verbeek needs to pick the right team. Mark Schwarzer, Luke Wilkshire, Lucas Neill and David Carney, with Michael Beauchamp coming in for the suspended Craig Moore.
Brett Emerton on the right flank and Mark Bresciano on the left, but my twist would be to play one holding midfielder, not two.
In a choice between Carl Valeri and Jason Culina and I would opt for Valeri. That would leave space for the outstanding Brett Holman to play in behind Josh Kennedy or Nikita Rukavytsya - height or speed.
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