Aaron Mooy is encouraged by the Caltex Socceroos' second half performance in their 3-2 loss to Germany at the Confederations Cup in Sochi.
REPORT: Caltex Socceroos push Germany but lose opener
HIGHLIGHTS: Caltex Socceroos beaten by Germany
SLOW START FOR AUSSIES
The World Champions scored an early goal before Tommy Rogic equalised for Australia, only to see Germany restore their lead from the penalty spot.
The Germans scored again shortly after the break, with Tomi Juric's 56th minute goal not enough for the Caltex Socceroos to grab a point.
“We didn't keep the ball well enough in the first half,” Mooy told FIFA TV.
“Germany are a good team and they made it difficult for us in the first half to find any fluency.
“Maybe we rushed too much, trying to penetrate too fast rather than waiting for the right opportunity to play forward.
“Second half, we did it much better - we kept the ball better and waited for the right chance to play forward and cause Germany a problem.
“We played our style of football and we dominated the ball for a long time but couldn't get another goal.”
FOCUS TURNS TO CAMEROON
The Caltex Socceroos next face African champions Cameroon on Thursday in Saint Petersburg, needing a win to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
“Every game we play, we want to win - that's how we play,” Mooy said.
“Hopefully we can play like we did in the second half [tonight] for longer parts of the next game and get a win.”