The appointment of the next Socceroos coach shapes as the biggest test of James Johnson's tenure as the chief executive of Football Australia (FA).
And should Johnson get his decision wrong, it could end up being a costly exercise for FA in more ways than one.
Johnson is on the hunt for a permanent replacement for Graham Arnold, who stood down on Friday after overseeing a winless start to the third stage of World Cup qualification.
The FA boss said after news broke of Arnold's exit that the governing body wanted to have a long-term coach locked in for next month's qualifiers with China and Japan respectively, the first of which takes place in Adelaide on October 10.
But while there is an urgent need to find a replacement there is also a necessity to find the right one given how much is financially at stake.
The Socceroos' charge to the last 16 in Qatar in 2022 netted north of $20 million in prizemoney along with sizeable increases in merchandise and sponsorship revenue.
The prospect of failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2006 would be unpalatable.
"We have every confidence that this team will go to the 2026 World Cup," Johnson said on Friday.
"We are two games into round three and have another eight matches to go.
"I would say it's a good time to freshen up the team with eight games to go and the reality is, this is a long qualifying process.
"It's the longest qualifying process that we've ever had in a World Cup.
"We're very confident that we will go through, we've just got to get this appointment."
Johnson said he was searching for a candidate who understood Australia's players, their rivals in Asia and could take the Socceroos to the next level.
Those comments tend to imply FA will look for a homegrown coach with John Aloisi and Tony Popovic the most likely contenders.
But the next coach must also juggle a role that demands extensive travel, little training ground time and an ability to handle a high-level of scrutiny.
"We know the market and who's available and who isn't available," Johnson said.
"That's what good planning does and good organisations with good football IP do.
"So I believe we're in a position that when we need to move quick, we can, and we will."
