The odds may be stacked well against them, but the Qantas Joeys are determined and quietly confident of accounting for fellow AFC entrants Uzbekistan in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Mexico 2011 Round of 16 on Thursday afternoon (local time) in Torreon.
On top of confronting an Uzbekistan team that is riding high after finishing top of Group D, the Qantas Joeys must also overcome a number of other hurdles if they are make it into the last eight of the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
In the lead up to the encounter, of which the winner will move through to a quarter final appointment with either Congo or Uruguay while the loser say good-bye, the preparations of the Qantas Joeys and Uzbekistan could not be more different.
Torreon has become a home away from home for the Uzbeks. They have played all three of their games at the Estadio Torreon and are well acclimatised to the stadium, and more significantly to the heat. Furthermore, Uzbekistan has had since last Saturday to recover and prepare.
In contrast, the Qantas Joeys only arrived in Torreon on Monday night following their physically draining group match against Denmark in Queratero, which was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to inclement weather.
But while Qantas Joeys Head Coach Jan Versleijen acknowledges all of this tips the game into Uzbekistan's favour, he has issued the differing preparations of the two teams as a challenge to his players to focus purely on what happens on the field.
"We haven't spent much time here (in Torreon) but one thing for sure that we noticed were the hot conditions compared to the other places we have played in before coming here, so that for us is an additional challenge compared to Uzbekistan who have been here since the start of the tournament," Versleijen said.
"Another challenge for us will be the days between our last game and tomorrow's game, and that is also an advantage for the Uzbek team."
"But I think our confidence and focus is very good. With the circumstances we have had, we have done as well as we possibly can and that's something we're also going to do in tomorrow's game."
"There are things you can't change, and with the things you cannot change, you should not try to waste too much energy on them but rather try to focus on the football side. All of our concentration and all of our energy will be on the game and we'll forget about all of the other things."
Uzbekistan have also developed strong support from the locals in Torreon, but that does not worry Versleijen.
"We played against them (Uzbekistan) last year in Tashkent where we had to face 30,000 Uzbek supporters and on that occasion we were able to compete very well," Versleijen said.
"I think it's a challenge if you play in a stadium full of opposition supporters, that's one of the learning experiences for young players."
The game also presents the Qantas Joeys with a chance to avenge that loss to Uzbekistan in Tashkent in the semi finals of the AFC Championships last November. This time they will meet on the world stage in Mexico and the Qantas Joeys will be hoping they can turn the tables and send Uzbekistan packing.
Two players the Qantas Joeys will have to try and do it without are midfield duo Jesse Makarounas and Yianni Perkatis. Makarounas will miss the match with right hamstring soreness, while Perkatis is suspended after being sent off against Denmark.
Makarounas, who scored the stunning first goal against Côte d'Ivoire, has been hindered by the hamstring problem since the narrow loss to Brazil, and at this stage it is unclear how deep into the tournament the injury will keep him out for if the Joeys continue to progress.
Currently, Uzbekistan is second only to Cote D'Ivoire for shots at goal in the tournament, but on the flipside despite their first place finish in the group, they have conceded goals in each of their three games, including four in their one and only loss, against New Zealand.
The Qantas Joeys are out of the FIFA U-17 World Cup after they were defeated 0-4 by Uzbekistan in the Round of 16 match played at Estadio Torreon.
Starting the match without Yianni Perkatis (suspension) and Jesse Makarounas (injury), Luke Remington was rewarded for his goal against Denmark with his first start of the competition.
The Qantas Joeys were also forced to play the match with only a one day rest after their last Group F match had to be replayed.
Uzbekistan controlled the match from the start and took only 11 minutes to open the scoring. Uzbek captain Abbosbek Makhstaliev received a through ball on the right and he drilled his shot low and hard to beat Paul Izzo to give his team the lead.
Uzbekistan doubled their tally in the 40th minute. Sardor Sabirkhodjaev made a run to the goal-line before crossing the ball near the penalty spot. Jacob Melling's clearance fell to Timur Khakimov on top of the box and his shot was deflected into goal for Uzbekistan's second.
In the early stages of the second half, the Qantas Joeys had a penalty claim waved away by referee Victor Carillo after Corey Brown was tackled inside the box. Qantas Joeys Head Coach Jan Versleijen then made two attacking changes in the 55th minute bringing on Teeboy Kamara and Anthony Proia.
Things got worse for the Qantas Joeys when their key striker Dylan Tombides was shown a straight red card after he was deemed to have his studs showing in a tackle. The sending off opened up and exposed the Qantas Joeys defence leading to the third and fourth goals for Uzbekistan.
The third goal came in the 66th minute when Connor Chapman was under pressure to clear a cross from the right and forced his clearance into his own net.
Uzbekistan completed the scoring in the 87th minute when the players passed the ball around the Qantas Joeys defence before substitute Davlatbek Yarbekov placed his shot beyond Izzo's reach.
The Qantas Joeys night of misery was completed in additional time when Kamara was given his second yellow card. Australia had to play the remaining two minutes of the match with nine men.
Speaking after the match, Versleijen pointed out that the Uzbekistan's early goal put the Qantas Joeys in a difficult position.
"It is a disappointing loss. Every loss is disappointing. Uzbekistan started well and scored early.
"We knew it would be a difficult game but that's obvious when you play in the last 16, all the teams you play have quality.
"The moments we got the goals scored against us were not in our favour and also knowing that we didn't recover completely from our last game against Denmark.
"When you go behind you need extra energy and extra forces to get back into the game and we couldn't get that today.
"It's difficult to say what part the lack of recovery had on the game, but it showed when you have to come from behind and then get a red card, it makes it very difficult.
"When you are chasing the game, are 2-nil behind and knowing that we hadn't recovered from our last game against Denmark, then it takes a lot of mental strength for boys at 16 and 17 years of age to overcome those things.
"I think the first factor you have to look at of course is your opponent because they (Uzbekistan) were well organised, they defended very well as a unit and they were very sharp on the counter attack.
"The temperature and the lack of recovery time from the Denmark game to this game - this was also part of the result but I don't want to use these reasons as an excuse.
"We played four games in this World Cup. Four games against opponents with different styles and I think that is a very good learning opportunity to come up against those variations in playing styles", concluded Versleijen.