The Subway Socceroos sit atop Group B in the Asian Cup after the first round of fixtures thanks to a 2-0 win over India at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
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Second half goals from Jackson Irvine and Jordy Bos helped seal the win for Australia against a determined Indian side in Qatar.
Assistant coach Rene Meulensteen has said it was a pleasing performance from the team and one they can grow from going forward in the tournament.
“We knew it was going to be hard, but very pleased with the application of the boys. Very, very happy with the focus and the patience that they kept throughout the game,” he said.
“That's what it's all about, take every game at a time and we will grow in the tournament for sure.”
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Meulensteen added that the match gave the players and coaching staff plenty of learning opportunities.
“You learn a lot from those games, when you review them, you can highlight a few things that we think we need to improve on and it's always about adding other things,” he said.
“We are still constantly a growing team; you can see that by the makeup of the squad.
“Our game is based on two things, mainly – energy and intensity, so we don't want to lose that but also we want to add that quality on the ball and that unpredictability in forward play so whenever we face those opponents, we still have the qualities to break them down.”
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Patrick Yazbek, Lewis Miller and John Iredale were the three players who were not a part of the matchday squad on Saturday, but Meulensteen said there will be rotation throughout the competition.
“I think if you look at the squad, it's obviously a 26-man squad, only 23 can be registered for the game but we've got that strength in depth,” he said.
Because of that we can play different systems, we can play different styles, we can use players with experience or younger players. It is a massive plus for me and Arnie when we lay out a game plan.”
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Looking ahead to the Syria match, Meulensteen expects a similar challenge for the Socceroos.
“I watched the game yesterday, Syria were well set up and made it very difficult for Uzbekistan to break them down, and they will do the same against us,” he said.
“We need to come up with the right selection of players, the right game plan again, utilise possession well to create those overloads and pockets to create chances to score goals."
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And to finish, the shared goal within this group to win the Asian Cup remains the focus for everyone involved.
“Everybody understands the reasons why we're here and I think at the end of the day, this Asian Cup comes at exactly the right time for this group,” Meulensteen said.
“When you've got a common goal and you've got this common desire and commitment to achieve that, the only thing is to stand to break it down, fragment it.
“Then you can keep climbing towards that goal, that is our focus.”
SUBWAY SOCCEROOS AFC ASIAN CUP QATAR 2023™ FIXTURES (GROUP B):
Syria v Australia
Thursday, 18 January 2024
Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: 2:30pm local (10:30pm AEDT)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Australia v Uzbekistan
Tuesday, 23 January 2024
Al Janoub Stadium, Doha
Kick-off: 2:30pm local (10:30pm AEDT)
Broadcast: Network 10 and Paramount+
Every AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 match will be live on Paramount+