Analysis: It's time for Socceroos coach Holger Osieck to deliver the goods Socceroos coach Holger Osieck speaks to his players during a training session at Etihad Stadium yesterday. HOLGER Osieck has been known to quote the odd Latin phrase in his press conferences, so the Socceroos coach will appreciate a demand for a spirit of carpe diem from his team tonight. Because really, if you can't seize the day when qualification for the pinnacle of your game hangs in the balance, in front of 45,000 supporters, and on the back of a stirring display away to your biggest rivals, when can you? After 12 games, a place at the World Cup next year comes down to the last two, but the second next week might as well be light years away. All that matters for now is victory for Australia tonight. It's not 100 per cent win or bust against Jordan this evening, but not far off. Dropping two points makes other teams' results crucial, dropping three is getting close to terminal. Such starkness is wonderful for concentrating the mind. No wonder the Socceroos have spoken in the past few days of seeking an early goal, of playing on the front foot in the manner once synonymous with their Australian Test cricket counterparts. For Osieck, then, comes the question of how to send out a team with the wit, bravery, belief and patience to indeed seize the moment -- to control the game, pull the Jordanian defence asunder and produce the sort of dominating performance the supporters crave. At 64, Osieck sees his role as more than a pure coach - he wants to be an educator, too, especially for the younger players, aiding their mental development as much as technical. Buoyed by the way they played against Japan, the Socceroos should be brimming with confidence. But three months ago there was a similar mood in camp in Sydney but the end product was a damp squib against Oman, and the narrowest escape from disaster. This is what Osieck has had to question since the final whistle in Saitama last Tuesday. The team he sent out to face Japan looked right from its first listing, but as importantly the mentality was pitch perfect - helped by the underdog tag they seem to enjoy. Determination and ruthlessness would be a good start tonight, but something else is needed. At the risk of annoying a German coach by invoking a Dutchman, this was the genius of Guus Hiddink. His ability to persuade his players that destiny would be theirs, and then give them the tools to make that happen, was peerless. Hiddink knew exactly when to smash his players as much as build them up. The result was confidence but also perspective, and an inner belief that was allied to calmness. Whether Osieck tonight keeps the same XI as last week or not, his own moment of truth is approaching. After the conformity of the Pim Verbeek tenure, Osieck gave his team more freedom and they surfed to the final of the Asian Cup in 2011 on the back of that release. Two and a half years later, the challenge is again to liberate them - from the lack of rhythm and assertion that too often afflicts them on home soil. For whatever the end result, the one thing that those who follow the Socceroos will demand is a performance to stir the soul, with nothing left on the pitch, and the lead for that comes from the top. You could sum it up with another piece of Latin, Fortes fortuna adiuvat - tonight Osieck's team must believe that fortune favours the brave.