Ireland captain William Porterfield is confident his teammates won’t be overawed by the challenge confronting them on Sunday.

Ireland’s spirited World Cup campaign will come down to a clash with Pakistan at Adelaide Oval.

Victory and they progress to a quarter-final against Australia at the same venue on Friday.

Defeat and they could be packing their bags, depending on how West Indies fare against the United Arab Emirates on the same day.

With all that being on the line, Porterfield hinted the side with the greater mettle would come up trumps.

“It’s just playing the game,” Porterfield said of the key to victory.

“I don’t think you can think about the outcome in terms of ‘you’re putting pressure on yourself’.

“Some lads may think about it more than others and that may be an extra motivation factor for themselves.

“But for myself, it’s just preparing to win that game and analysing the opposition as we do.”

Porterfield was reluctant to nominate a par total for the game.

“Bangladesh defended with 275 here a few days ago,” he said.

“It varies. You’ve just got to assess the conditions and play the conditions on the day.

“You pick up a couple of early wickets and there is never an easy total to chase down.”

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq suggested his side would need to continue their strong form with the ball if they are to defeat Ireland.

“Everybody knows their strength is their batting,” he said.

“They’re pretty mature in their batting line-up and they’re really playing well.

“You need to be really on your toes. You really need to play the best cricket to beat them.”