Miloš Degenek believes in three things: family, the Socceroos and God.
Well, two gods.
The first god is the maker of heaven and earth, water and light, land and sea, night and day. The second god, to turn a Bill Shankly phrase, is the maker of something a little more important than all that.
But in this lifetime, there's only one maker Degenek will be meeting, and that will be on Sunday AEDT when Australia faces Lionel Messi and Argentina for a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals.
The two countries have faced each other seven times since their first meeting in 1988, which was the first and only time the plucky Australians defeated the South American giants.
Their most recent clash came in 2007 when the Socceroos' last "Golden Generation" narrowly lost 1-0.
A 20-year-old Messi played the full 90 minutes that day, though didn't find the back of the net.
History has a way of coming back around, though, and there is a creeping sense of return for Australia at this World Cup.
It's been almost the same number of years since the Socceroos last made it to the round of 16, and they're doing it with a team that head coach Graham Arnold — who faced Argentina five times as a player, including in two 1994 World Cup qualifiers — has dubbed "the new Golden Generation", ripping them out from the long shadow of that 2006 side.
The last time Arnold faced Argentina as a player, though, God had a slightly different name.
"If I go back to 1993, it's very similar," Arnold said.
"They had Diego Maradona, they've got now Lionel Messi.
"We drew 1-1 in Sydney and lost 1-0 in Buenos Aires. We're not going to Buenos Aires this time. We've got our fans here and it's going to be an even feel.
"It's a special memory and will be in the future, but for me it's full focus on keeping the players' energy right and the belief is there."
Degenek is a man of faith and there is only one god he respects and fears. But it's not the one vying for this World Cup, who, at 35 years old, will almost certainly be his last.
"I always loved Messi and I think he's the greatest to ever play the game," Degenek said.
"[But] it's not an honour to play against him because he's just a human, as we all are.
"It's an honour to be in a round of 16 of a World Cup, that's an honour in itself. Whether we played Argentina or whether we played Poland, it still would've been an honour.
"Apart from that, it's 11 against 11. There's not 11 Messis, there's one.
"We know their squad: It's full of stars. Even [Paulo] Dybala's on the bench, [Lautaro] Martinez comes off the bench. It's a squad that's immaculate."
If the Socceroos are to not just match history but to exceed it, they must stop one of the most unstoppable footballers the world has ever seen; a national talisman, a Barcelona legend, a seven-time Ballon D'Or winner. So how exactly does this rowdy bunch of Australians plan to do it?
Well, we all know the motto by now.
"You have to believe, you know?" Degenek said, preaching to the largely converted.
"We have to believe in ourselves. We have to believe in all the boys, whether it's Kye [Rowles], Harry [Souttar], Aziz [Behich], Nate [Atkinson], Fran [Karacic], Bailey [Wright], Thomas Deng, myself, whoever is playing at the back. We have to believe, and we have to be confident in our abilities to stop every attack.
"Whether that's going to be possible or not, [I'm] not sure, but I know we're going to give 110 per cent to stop everything that goes towards Maty [Ryan's] goal."
If Australia's defeats of Tunisia and Denmark haven't already provided a "come to Jesus" moment for the country, then Degenek is confident that a result against Argentina will convert even the staunchest of atheists into Socceroos disciples.
"Just imagine in every state there are 10, 20, 30,000 people watching the game [at live sites] and we beat Argentina," he said.
"Just think about how infectious that is; not for us, but for kids who are five or six years old and want to start playing football.
"That's what drives me. That's what I'd like to see. Why not us? Leicester City won the Premier League, Croatia got to the World Cup finals last [time].
"There has to always be that one story that shows the whole world, the one story that everyone jumps on the bandwagon and goes, 'Oh, our country is out, let's support these guys because they're the underdogs.' I think it'll be a lovely story.
"They (Argentina) are obviously driven by the motivation that it could be Messi's last World Cup, and he wants to win the World Cup and end [his career] on a high. For us, it's to stop that.
"Unfortunately, I am a big fan of his, but I'd love to win a World Cup more than him to win the World Cup.
"One day, when we reflect on it, we could even write a book about it: We end up getting to a World Cup final and winning it. That'd be the most beautiful story in the world."
These are lofty ambitions, but when Australia has already exceeded so many people's expectations, what's the danger in dreaming a little bigger, aiming a little higher, looking a little further beyond the horizon of the possible?
That, for Mat Leckie— who scored against Denmark — is where the Socceroos' true danger rests: Against this footballing giant, they really have nothing to lose.
"It's a 90-minute game – maybe 120 – and it's a knockout game," he said.
"Because nobody expected us to be here, we throw everything at them. There's no real pressure for us.
"I'm a Messi man. I think he's naturally the most talented player I've ever seen with the ball at his feet. He just does things that no-one else can do.
"In saying that, we've come across great players [so far], and I think as long as we're a collective group, as we have been until now, we can stop their strengths, stop them from being dangerous, and that's what we'll try to do.
"Arnie's selected all of us because he selected players who'd do a job, and that's what they've been doing at their clubs.
"We have no real pressure. We just need to enjoy the moment, enjoy the occasion.
"No-one expects us to win. So let's shock the world."
So what will be Arnold's approach to try to defeat a team which, in its recent defeat of Poland to qualify for this knock-out game, strung a series of 37 passes together before scoring?
"Get in their faces," Arnold said.
"Don't give them time. I think that's what we did [against Denmark] well.
"Of course, they had more possession, and yes, they were just smashing long balls, but the main thing was stopping [Christian] Eriksen from getting on the ball.
"If you stop him getting on the ball, then there's no passes into pockets and there's no penetration. Stopping their main players getting on the ball is going to be crucial."
And that's players – plural.
"If you focus too much on Messi, then you're forgetting about the other players," he said.
"Poland focused too much on Messi. It's not just about stopping Messi. We've also got some very good players on that team.
"As I said to the boys this morning, you don't get these opportunities often in life, so what are you going to do about it? Are you just going to let it ride, or are you going to do something more?
"When you're home, you've got time to rest and think about things and remember those things. But this is now. This is real. Let's give it our best shot."
Join ABC Sport at abc.net.au/sport on Sunday at 6am AEDT as we live blog the World Cup clash between Australia and Argentina
