Australia have done the first bit expected from most hosts of a major tournament – reach the final. Now comes the biggest, most difficult step – of performing in those 90 minutes and walking away with the AFC Asian Cup title.
South Korea are the team standing in the way of the Socceroos and glory, and they are certainly a team capable of silencing what is expected to be a record crowd at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
"We'll just do what we've been doing," said Australia coach Ange Postecoglou on Friday. "It's been successful so far and we'll continue to do that.
"There won't be any secrets about how we go about it tomorrow, we'll take the game to the opposition, we'll put pressure on them and it's up to them to stop us from creating opportunities and scoring goals. Nothing's going to change from that perspective."
What Australia hope changes will be the result from the last time these two teams met. In the group stages South Korea picked up a 1-0 victory against the Socceroos, a victory which ensured top spot.
South Korea will bank on that solid defence of theirs again to do the job, while knowing full well they have the quality up front to take the chances when they come, as they showed against Iraq in the semifinals.
"At the end of it, we lost but we felt we preformed really well on the night so from our perspective there were no negatives to come out of it," Postecoglou added.
"We finished second in the group but it didn't cost us too much from the tournament perspective. We know that at our best we're certainly a match for the Korean team.
"All these kind of things become irrelevant when it comes down to a one-off game, because it's a big occasion. The previous game goes out the window.
"You realise every moment is so crucial in a big game. It's about which team can execute the best on the day. Having been involved in a few finals, you know it doesn't always go according to the script."
Australia will still be carrying some of the scars of that 1-0 defeat to Japan in the AFC Asian Cup 2011 final, and South Korea will look to be the second straight East Asian team to pile on the disappointment of losing in a major final.
It will not be easy, though, especially with the raucous crowd that is expected on Saturday and the fact that the South Koreans are playing a youngish team.
"It's the first time they will be in a big final, in a big event in front of 80,000 people," Korea coach Uli Stielike said. "I don't know how will be the reaction, if we can control our nerves and we play with calm and with conviction we will have every possibility to win the game.
"This will be the main point -- How strong will be our mentality in this game?"
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The AFC Asian Cup final is set for an 8 pm local time (2.30 pm IST, 9 am GMT) start with live TV coverage in India on Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD1. The finale can also be watched via live streaming online on Starsports.com.
Viewers in Australia can watch their Socceroos team in action against South Korea on Fox Sports 4 and ABC 1. The match can also be live streamed online on Foxtel Play or Fox Sports Live. Catch the match in New Zealand on Sky Sport 3 or Sky Go. Audience in South Korea can watch the Asian Cup final live on KBSN Sport and MBC Sports.
Viewers in the UK and Europe can catch the action on Eurosport or via a live stream on Eurosport Player, while US and Canada viewers can watch the game live on One World Sports. Audience in the UAE can watch the game on Bein Sports or live stream the action on Bein Sports Connect.
