Archie Thompson believes Australia can step up when they take on Japan next week.
The Socceroos meet the highly-rated Blue Samurai in Saitama in a crucial World Cup qualifier on June 4 and Melbourne Victory ace Thompson is confident that he and his teammates can fire up for the big occasion as they look to move into second place in Group B.
"It's a huge game for us," Thompson said. "We've got the opportunity to take Japan on in Japan and at the moment they're one of the best football countries in Asia.
"To get a result or to knock them off in Japan would build so much confidence in this team. And we've then got two home games, one in Melbourne (against Jordan), which will be fantastic because we always get great support there.
"It doesn't seem to matter how we're playing, this match (against Japan) always seems to bring out something different in the Australian team.
"We've always had that great rivalry with Japan. They're a team at the moment which is just packed with world-class talent.
"They're playing in top leagues and ... they're only one point off qualifying for a World Cup with two games left."
