Kazakhstan may not be one of world football's giants, but Robert Green knows the planet's ninth largest nation will present a stern test for Fabio Capello's England this afternoon.
The West Ham United goalkeeper has been widely tipped to win his third cap and first senior international start in England's 2010 FIFA World Cup Group 6 qualifier in Almaty. Green is expecting the Kazakhs to produce a determined performance in front of their own supporters, even if the home side do not possess the household names of their more illustrious visitors.
"I know its the ninth largest country in the world, but as a footballing side, they have shown what they are capable of, we had difficult periods when we played them at home. The scoreline did not really reflect how the game panned out. The manager has highlighted what a tough outfit they are -- how hard they work for each other, they are a resolute side and one that won't be a pushover," said Green, alluding to the 5-1 defeat England handed their opponents at Wembley last October.
When asked if England should expect to repeat their five-goal haul this time around, Green pointed out that every international team was capable of pulling off an upset. Therefore, the Hammers' stopper believes a 1-0 victory would suffice for Capello's side, who have won all five of their qualifying fixtures thus far.
"A few years ago we went to Azerbaijan and qualified from that -- we won 1-0, a win is a win. We are going a long way from home to an experience that's very different from what we are used to," he said.
"You hope to win by a hatful of goals but sometimes you are not at your best and those are the times you turn around and say 'Ok, we will take a win' and you look at someting like Kazakhstan away where it's not going to be a walkover by any stretch of the imagination.
"If we come back and we are on 18 points come Sunday morning then its been a successful trip."
Green faces competition for the No1 jersey from West Bromwich Albion's Scott Carson and Blackburn Rovers' Paul Robinson in the absence of the injured David James and Ben Foster. Whoever is handed a start by Capello, the West Ham man believes the chosen goalkeeper will not let their country down, despite their relative inexperience at international level.
Carson and Robinson both made well-documented mistakes for England during the ill-fated UEFA Euro 2008 qualification campaign, while Green has totalled just 90 minutes for his country, but he is confident all three are strong enough characters to thrive this Saturday.
"It's a massive game for the country," he said. "Whichever one of us goes in knows the importance of it. I don't think any one of us would give it a second thought, it wouldn't cross our minds about the previous experience because between the three of us we have more than enough ability to do a job.
"The confidence you have in yourself doesn't take history into account. It's something that has happened, it's done, we'll move on."
For Green himself, a call-up was the reward of another consistent season with his club, ending with a runners-up trophy in the Hammer of the Year voting. Now, the goalkeeper wants to take his Barclays Premier League form on to the international stage.
"I think I've done fairly well this season as I have in previous seasons," he added. "The motivation is there more than ever and the personal ambition of wanting to improve myself as a player more than anything is a key factor for me.
"My personal thing, my motivation, is to be the best I can be. What comes from that is by the by - whether I was playing for Woking in the Conference or whoever. My thing is to be as good as I can be."
Green also downplayed suggestions that there is a current dearth of top-class English goalkeepers, citing the cost of signing homegrown stoppers as the major reason for the influx of foreign goalkeepers into the English game.
The top-four all have first-choice foreign-born goalkeepers, while only West Ham, Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth, Blackburn, Newcastle United and West Brom did likewise during the 2008/09 campaign.
"That is the Premier League now. I think there are a number of factors involved in that," said Green. "If you look at the guys who moved to the top-six clubs, Edwin van der Sar cost [Manchester United] a couple of million pounds, Manuel Almunia cost [Arsenal] nothing, and I'm not sure how much Jose Reina cost [Liverpool].
"If you look at English goalkeepers and the cost of them, [Wigan's] Chris Kirkland moved to Liverpool for £6m, and Scott's moved for big money before. That is the element within clubs now - the emphasis is to spend the money on forwards.
"If you are a manager with a budget and you can pick up an experienced 'keeper on the Continent for a little amount then you are going to do it because you need your budget to go on your forward to score goals.
"That is where you as a manager earn money and keep your job. That is the real over-riding factor. I don't think it is a statement on English goalkeepers' abilities."