Australian defender Luke Wilkshire insists that New Zealand will really come to play in Sunday's international friendly in Adelaide.
The All Whites were beaten 3-0 by Mexico in Denver on Wednesday and the Dinamo Moscow right-back is expecting a tough contest from the Trans-Tasman rivals.
"It goes without saying, Australia v New Zealand in any code of sport, whether it be football, rugby league or marbles, it's competitive and you want to win," Wilkshire said.
"It's kind of a friendly rivalry you could say but I think they'll want to knock us off.
"It's a scalp that they'll want to take from us but we've got to make sure that we don't let that happen."
And as for New Zealand's quick trip back from the USA, Wilkshire is confident the professionalism of the today's footballers will have them fully prepared to tackle the Socceroos at the Adelaide Oval.
"It's football. A lot of us have played on the weekend too and have had long flights and come into camp here and we've got to play Sunday and then Tuesday (against Serbia in Melbourne)," he added.
"I'm sure they'll adjust."
