Scotland manager Craig Levein believes their Euro 2012 qualifier against the Czech Republic will be the most important game of their qualification campaign.
The two nations meet at Hampden on September 3 in what will be the Scots' next competitive outing after facing Denmark in a friendly at the same venue in August.
Qualifiers against Lithuania, Liechtenstein and Spain then follow as Levein's men aim to secure second place in Group I and a crack at the play-offs.
But Levein knew from the outset that the forthcoming clash with the Czechs - who are five points ahead of Scotland having played one game more - was always likely to be the match that could ultimately make or break their campaign.
He told Sky Sports News: "The next three matches are must-win if we are intent on reaching the second spot in the tournament.
"From the start of the campaign my thoughts were that we would need to beat the Czech Republic at home and it becomes the most important game in the section."
Last month saw Scotland narrowly miss out on the inaugural Carling Nations Cup to the Republic of Ireland.
But Levein believes the get-together in Dublin can only benefit the national team ahead of those crucial qualifiers.
He said: "I often bemoan not having enough time to spend with the players, so I've been very fortunate the Carling Nations Cup was on this year and we have gained enormously from it.
"We've introduced some new players, we've managed to create a real team mentality and we've got a group of players I'm extremely proud to be the manager of."
The Carling Nations Cup earned mixed reviews after some of the matches were played in a near-empty Aviva Stadium.
But Levein is adamant the tournament was a worthwhile exercise and would love to see England involved next time around.
He added: "I hear rumours that that's a possibility for two years' time.
"It isn't my job to organise the tournament, I can just say from my own point of view it was an excellent tournament for us and it brought a lot of things we otherwise wouldn't have had.
"I'd like to manage Scotland for as many games as I can and if England are included in the tournament in a couple of years' time that'd be great."