Tim Cahill has likened the start of Australia's AFC World Cup qualifying campaign to English FA Cup games away to Scunthorpe United from his days playing with Everton in the Premier League.
The Socceroos' Group B in the AFC second round includes Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Bangladesh and Jordan.
The reigning Asian Cup champions fought hard to win their first game 2-1 against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on Tuesday night.
"Whether you can take this as an example or not but when I was playing at Everton and we used to play Scunthorpe away and struggle to win, it's the biggest game of their lives," Cahill told the FFA. "It's not going to get any easier. That's not because of the crowd or the pitches but these are their biggest games."
Having begun his English career with Millwall in the second tier, Cahill added that he could relate to the underdog mentality of Asia's emerging nations.
He was a peripheral figure on Tuesday night as Kyrgyzstan central defenders Azamat Baimatov and Daniel Tagoe kept Australia's record scorer quiet.
"I went to get a drink from the boss and the defender still tried to follow me," Cahill said. "Half of the time, even though he kicked me or whatever, you just smile at him because I remember being that kid when I was playing for Millwall against the Premier League sides when I was in the second division.
"They're not going to give you any breathing room.
"A lot of them are going to want to make themselves famous, whether it's through a tackle or scoring a goal that is going to make their country proud."
Cahill, who is playing in his fourth World Cup qualifying campaign, is flying back to China to re-join Chinese Super League club, Shanghai Shenhua
Barring injury, he is a certainty to be selected for Australia's next qualifier against Bangladesh in Perth on Sep. 3
He was hopeful that the Socceroos would produce a more fluid performance in the first senior international played in Perth in a decade.
"It's mixed feeling but not too negative [after the Kyrgyzstan game]. It would have been tough if we had lost, we would have reflected in a different way."
Cahill was Australia's top scorer with three goals as the Socceroos lifted January's 2015 AFC Asian Cup on home soil. He's netted 39 goals in 82 internationals since 2004 and scored in three World Cups.
