Milovan Rajevac will look to put his past experience of facing the Socceroos to good use on Tuesday evening when his Thailand team meet Australia in World Cup qualifying in Melbourne.
Thailand's hopes of progressing to Russia 2018 ended months ago, while the Australians need to win handsomely to keep their prospects of claiming an automatic slot for next year's finals alive, ahead of Saudi Arabia's meeting with Japan later in the day.
But while the odds are in the Socceroos' favour to pick up all three points, Rajevac will lean on his stint as Ghana head coach at the 2010 World Cup in an attempt to undermine Australia's hopes.
"They're a compact team, a quality team," the Serbian coach, who was appointed in May, said. "I remember them well from the World Cup in 2010.
"If I look at the game against Ghana, they scored first after a free kick and then it was very difficult to play against them because they know how to defend.
"Physically they are very strong and when they came back in the box it was very difficult to score against them. We played maybe one of the best 45 minutes against Australia, but Australia was really difficult to overcome.
"We managed to equalise and for us that was a great result, maybe even better than if we had won."
The meeting between the nations in Rustenburg ended in a 1-1 draw after Brett Holman had put Australia ahead after just 11 minutes before Harry Kewell was sent off just 13 minutes later for handball.
Ghana dominated the second half and eventually levelled the scores through Asamoah Gyan. But the draw, coming just days after a 4-0 loss at the hands of Germany, gave Australia a mountain to climb. Pim Verbeek's team would exit the tournament, despite defeating Serbia in their final game.
Rajevac, meanwhile, led the Ghanaians to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Africa, where his side was denied the continent's first-ever berth in the semifinals, due to a controversial handball by Luis Suarez.
"I felt sorry for Australia, but they delivered a very good performance at that World Cup," Rajevac said of the Socceroos early elimination in South Africa.
While the team has evolved significantly under Ange Postecoglou since the last time Rajevac went head-to-head with Australia, he has keep a close eye on developments in the build up to the meeting between the two teams.
"I watched Australia at the Asian Cup when they won it. I was there," he said.
"They're a very good team. Physically strong. They have some players from the former Yugoslavia and we have to prepare well for the match, to choose how we are going to approach that game tactically.
"But we are definitely going to try and achieve a good result against Australia and I don't think it's going to be an easy match for them, although we know they are a very strong team. We think we have a chance and we will be motivated.
"Both teams are great, it's difficult to compare," he said of the 2010 team and the current vintage.
"Now Australia are more confident than before. If you look at the players, in terms of quality, it's similar. It's difficult to say really. I think they are happy to be part of the national team set up, they look proud and determined. This is the impression they give.
"The important thing for Australia is the team. They have some players who are maybe better than others but the quality lies in the team. They think as a team, they are not thinking as individuals. They have quality players but the main strength is in their team play."