Socceroos defender Craig Goodwin is placing his World Cup dreams in the hands of Adelaide United as he attempts to prove he is ready for Qatar.
Goodwin played through osteitis pubis during the Socceroos' successful World Cup qualifying campaign, with the injury heavily affecting his pre-season for the current A-League Men campaign.
The 30-year-old came off the bench for Adelaide's first two games, but he made it through 90 minutes in last week's 2-2 draw with Sydney FC.
Goodwin is set for another starting role in Sunday's clash with Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium.
Adelaide coach Carl Veart has vowed to prioritise Goodwin's World Cup hopes.
For Goodwin, his ticket to Qatar will be earned by making Adelaide his No.1 priority.
"I think the best thing for me and my chances with the national team is Craig Goodwin doing well with Adelaide United," Goodwin said.
"If my performances aren't good with Adelaide or I'm not in a good place, then I'm not going to get picked.
"It does fill me with a lot of confidence, the coach doing what he can to help me.
"But for me, he's putting me in the position to help the team. And that's the most important for me - to help Adelaide United win games."
Sunday's match will mark Glory's first appearance since cutting ties with star striker Bruno Fornaroli.
An ugly stoush loomed after Fornaroli effectively accused the club of being loose with the truth for saying he didn't play in last week's 2-1 win over Central Coast due to injury.
The incident overshadowed Glory's first win of the season, and the club confirmed on Friday that Fornaroli had been released from his contract.
Fornaroli has already been linked with a move to Melbourne Victory under Tony Popovic.
Adelaide have started the season with two draws and a loss, but Glory coach Ruben Zadkovich is expecting a huge fight.
"I think they've had an unlucky start to the season," Zadkovich said.
"They've had a couple of games with red cards and some different scenarios. They've also been away from home.
"One thing we know about Adelaide at Hindmarsh is they're a different beast.
"They're an attacking team They've got some high quality players, the likes of Craig Goodwin, Ben Halloran, Hiroshi Ibusuki.
"There's some top-shelf players in their squad."
Ibusuki's 40th minute red card against Sydney last week was rescinded on appeal.
