Skipper Mark Milligan praised Australia's mental approach to the crunch game against Palestine at the Asian Cup.
The 3-0 victory left the Socceroos well-placed to advance to the knockout stages of a competition they won on home soil four years ago.
It came in the wake of a stunning 1-0 defeat to 109th-ranked Jordan in their opening match in Group B in Al Ain.
Milligan felt Graham Arnold's side had taken a proactive and composed approach to the match against Palestine. Jamie Maclaren and Awer Mabil struck inside the opening 20 minutes and substitute Apostolos Giannou headed home the third goal.
Milligan, who made a game-high 97 passes, said: "We worked on different ways to break them down but I think the most important thing was our mentality. We were a little bit more patient and we kept moving the ball quickly.
"We wanted to make sure we picked our moments to go forward, we wanted to make sure we hit our rotations and timings. We know what it's like when you don't have the ball - it can be very tough."
Australia can ensure they progress by earning a draw with Syria in their final group match on Tuesday.
They met the AFC's sixth-ranked side in the fourth round of qualifying for the last World Cup in October 2017.
The Socceroos, then under Ange Postecoglou, drew 1-1 away in the first leg and the second leg score in Sydney was the same after 90 minutes before Australia won via Tim Cahill's extra-time goal.
Milligan said of Syria: "They've got some quality in their team and we just need to make sure we control things from early on."
Australia are 1/2 to beat Syria, who are 7/1 with the draw 14/5. The Socceroos are 5/1 to win 1-0.
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Skipper Mark Milligan praised Australia's mental approach to the crunch game against Palestine at the Asian Cup.
The 3-0 victory left the Socceroos well-placed to advance to the knockout stages of a competition they won on home soil four years ago.
It came in the wake of a stunning 1-0 defeat to 109th-ranked Jordan in their opening match in Group B in Al Ain.
Milligan felt Graham Arnold's side had taken a proactive and composed approach to the match against Palestine. Jamie Maclaren and Awer Mabil struck inside the opening 20 minutes and substitute Apostolos Giannou headed home the third goal.
Milligan, who made a game-high 97 passes, said: "We worked on different ways to break them down but I think the most important thing was our mentality. We were a little bit more patient and we kept moving the ball quickly.
"We wanted to make sure we picked our moments to go forward, we wanted to make sure we hit our rotations and timings. We know what it's like when you don't have the ball - it can be very tough."
Australia can ensure they progress by earning a draw with Syria in their final group match on Tuesday.
They met the AFC's sixth-ranked side in the fourth round of qualifying for the last World Cup in October 2017.
The Socceroos, then under Ange Postecoglou, drew 1-1 away in the first leg and the second leg score in Sydney was the same after 90 minutes before Australia won via Tim Cahill's extra-time goal.
Milligan said of Syria: "They've got some quality in their team and we just need to make sure we control things from early on."
Australia are 1/2 to beat Syria, who are 7/1 with the draw 14/5. The Socceroos are 5/1 to win 1-0.
Source: bet365.com