The Socceroos' heartening World Cup qualifying win against China will mean nothing if not followed by a good showing against Japan, star winger Craig Goodwin says.
Goodwin and his teammates depart Australia on Saturday for a heavyweight clash against Japan in Saitama on Tuesday night.
Japan (nine points) have won all three games in the third phase of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup to sit atop the six-nation group, with Australia (four points) second on goal difference from Saudi Arabia.
The Socceroos banked their first win this qualifying round with a 3-1 triumph over China on Thursday night in Adelaide, with Goodwin scoring a stunning long-range goal.
The Adelaide-born winger also assisted Lewis Miller's headed goal in the victory to earn player of the match honours.
But Goodwin says the Socceroos can't dwell on their success in Tony Popovic's first game as coach of the national team.
"We have to move on," he said.
"As it is in football, everything happens so quick.
"Now we have to really focus on Japan because if we go to Japan and don't put in a good performance, then this is for nothing.
"We have to back it up in the next match and really focus on what's in front of us."
The Socceroos have never beaten the Samurai Blues in Japan in seven attempts, with four losses and three draws - and Australia haven't defeated Japan anywhere for 15 years.
"We want to go out to win every game and qualify directly," Goodwin said.
"So it was really important to get the result (against China) and now we have to recover quickly and focus on Japan."
Seven games remain in the qualifying round with the top two nations advancing to the '26 World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The third and fourth-placed countries are tossed into another qualifying phase.
