Over 84,000 Australians celebrated the Socceroos' 1-0 win over Uruguay in the first leg of their World Cup qualification play-off this morning but I fear they may be weeping on Sunday after the return in Montevideo.
They have one foot in the World Cup finals after victory in Melbourne, however the job is nowhere near complete. It was the result they wanted - a goal and a clean sheet to take to South America - but the Uruguay they will face on Sunday will surely be more attack-minded than today and will cause far more problems.
Australia look worryingly like a one-man team: stop Harry Kewell and you stop Australia. The Leeds star was magnificent at times, was always willing; he wanted the ball, his team-mates gave it to him, and he ran at defenders.
Having been given licence to roam behind sole striker Mark Viduka in the first half, only to find himself with the ball on the halfway line and little ahead of him other than sky blue shirts swarming around his Leeds team-mate, Kewell was more effective after the break. With former Bristol City striker Paul Agostino on for Stan Lazaridis and partnering Viduka, Kewell slotted into the left wing slot and caused havoc.
His run from halfway, taking on three defenders before sending in a delightful cross, won the penalty and the lead for the Roos. But the alarm bells will have rung in the heads of the Uruguayans and Kewell is likely to be man-marked in Montevideo.
Granted, Uruguay relied on one man - Inter star Alvaro Recoba - for most of their attacking impetus, but then they were concerned with keeping it tight. They could not manage a clean sheet thanks to a tug on Agostino late in the game which allowed Wolvesı Kevin Muscat to convert a penalty, and hand Australia a slender 'half time' lead.
It is likely that Uruguay will score at least one in Montevideo. Roared on by a passionate home support, an early goal would put the Australians under immense pressure. If Uruguay were to go ahead, the Socceroos could struggle to draw level let alone score twice to win the tie.
Viduka was well marshalled by Juventus hard man Paolo Montero, and although Agostino proved a threat when he came on, giving Uruguayıs back three more than they wanted to deal with, Aussie boss Frank Farina is likely to revert to one up front for the second leg.
That would be playing into Uruguayıs hands.
Australiaıs problem is that they score so few goals (apart from when playing the likes of Tahiti and Samoa). The temptation to play two up front and go in search of the away goal that should kill the tie will be tempered with the concern that, by keeping Kewell in a five-man midfield, they will give the men in green-and-gold a better chance of snuffing out the South Americans.
I fear that Australia have had their chance and fluffed it. Eight corners from Lazaridis in the first half generated only two attempts on goal, including a header from Rangersı Craig Moore that scraped the bar. So many other crosses were underhit or overhit, blocked by the first defender or easily caught by impressive young keeper Fabian Carini.
Australia, who will arrive in Uruguay four hours after their opponents thanks to the Uruguayan government laying on a private jet to ferry their team home, needed a two- or three-goal cushion in order to be confident of qualifying for their first World Cup finals since 1974.
Instead, they must decide whether to defend what theyıve got or go for the kill. Either way, I think they will be confronted by a hyped-up Uruguay who will inflict yet another World Cup play-off defeat on the Socceroos.
In 1985, they lost to Scotland. In 1989, a home draw with Israel saw them miss-out on a play-off altogether. In 1993, Maradonaıs Argentina scraped past them and, famously, a late Iran equaliser made sure Terry Venables was available for TV work during France 98.
This time, Australia have won their home game, but can they avoid defeat in the away leg?
I hope so, but I doubt it.