Both Serbia and Australia need to win their final Group D clash in Nelspruit on Wednesday.
But while a victory for Serbia would guarantee it a place in the last-16, a victory for Australia could still send the Socceroos crashing out depending on the Ghana-Germany result in the other Group D fixture.
The Socceroos will welcome back Tim Cahill from a ban, but will be without Harry Kewell and Craig Moore through suspension.
“They still have good players in the reserves, but these two are big players for them,” Serbia captain Dejan Stankovic said. “We will try to use that to our advantage.”
The Aussie team looked dreadful in their opening 4-0 loss to Germany, but were much better in their 1-1 draw with Ghana and will be hoping to continue that improvement.
“The boys were all very proud of the way we performed (against Ghana),” said Aussie skipper Brett Emerton. “We'll take those positives into the next game and get the win.”
— DPA