Senegal will face a test of character on Wednesday when they meet co-hosts Equatorial Guinea in their second 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group A clash at Estadio de Bata (kick-off 19h00 GMT).
The Senegalese were roundly beaten 2-1 by Zambia in their opener on Saturday, a surprise result given that they came into this tournament among the favourites.
But they now face the ignominy of an early exit unless they can get a positive result against the Equatorial Guineans, who defeated Libya in their opener 1-0.
On paper, it is a mismatch, but when you factor in the vociferous home support and the pressure building up on the Senegalese, the game looks anything but a foregone conclusion.
What will be pleasing for coach Amara Troare was the second half display against the Zambians, which was chalk-and-cheese compared to the first.
He will be hoping they can maintain that impetus get an early goal to settle their nerves.
Traore said in the aftermath of their defeat that it will be back to basics for his side against Equatorial Guinea.
"We lost a battle, not the war. It'll wake us up, and that's going to help me a lot on the psychological front," he said. "We turned the page on this match this morning [Sunday], holding a debriefing on what needed to be fixed. My talk to the team was based on the fundamentals: passing, working as a unit ... to be aggressive.
"Quite a few of the players are competing in their first Nations Cup. We can't rest on our showing in the qualifiers, we have to do more."
The hardest task facing Traore again is who to leave out of his star-studded frontline, with Newcastle United forwards Demba Ba and Pappis Cisse competing with Lille striker Moussa Sow and Qatari-based Mamdou Niang.
A pointer might be the fact that Senegal looked much better against the Zambians when Cisse replaced Sow in the second period.
Equatorial Guinea's fairytale start was great for the tournament and excitement over this match among the home team fans has now reached fever-pitch.
Coach Gilson Paulo is not burdened by expectations, having taken over the side only three weeks before the start of the competition.
But the Brazilian will know that he is on the cusp of doing something special and any points gained off the pool favourites will seriously boost their quarter-final chances.
