Shane Duffy has described the Republic of Ireland's World Cup Qualifier against Serbia on Tuesday as "a huge game" following the 1-1 draw with Georgia.
The Brighton defender headed Ireland ahead after just four minutes in Tbilisi on Saturday night but Georgia equalised before half-time leaving Serbia, who beat Moldova 3-0, two points clear at the top of Group D with third-placed Wales two points behind Ireland.
It means the match on Tuesday, which is live on Sky Sports Football, is crucial to the Republic's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup in Russia next year but Duffy was upbeat after Saturday's match.
He said: "We know it's a huge game and if we win that then we can potentially top the group. If we do that, we're one step closer to the World Cup.
"They [Georgia] dominated and we knew they could take points off teams because they're a good team. That little final bit of end-product is probably what they don't have and bigger countries do.
"For me personally, I'd say they're better than some of the teams ranked above them. On paper, it's not a glamorous team but that was difficult, and at home it was too.
"We want to beat those teams, but if you can't beat them, you need to avoid defeat and we did that. We'll take that positive on to Tuesday."
Midfielder Harry Arter added: "Regardless of the result, that [Serbia] game was always going to be critical. They won, so the pressure is on us - but it probably would have been the same. We have to try and get a result against them at home."