Tom Rogic will only get better after scoring in his first tournament match for Australia, Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou said on Monday.
While Rogic debuted for the national side in 2012 as a teenager, injuries prevented the fleet-footed midfielder from making the World Cup in Brazil or Asian Cup on home soil.
His opportunity finally came on Monday night in Russia, and Rogic seized it, scoring a fine equaliser to temporarily halt the Germans. He also had a strong hand in Australia's second, winning the free kick and lashing in a strike that eventually led to Tomi Juric's tap-in.
Postecoglou said he saw a player that grew into the contest and would continue to grow in Russia.
"He worked real hard. He didn't get into great areas [early] because we were chasing the opportunity and just didn't get enough of the ball to him," Postecoglou said.
"In that second half he was what we expected him to be. It was his first game in a big tournament. He'll get better and I'm sure he'll take confidence."
The modest Celtic midfielder didn't want to talk about his own performance, instead saying he saw enough of an improvement in the team's second half to be confident for their next-up clash with Cameroon.
"We can certainly build on that, no doubt. We can certainly play a lot better than we did. We grew in to it," Rogic said. "There's a lot of positives to take."
Rogic wasn't the only tournament debutant against Russia. Aaron Mooy, Milos Degenek and Bailey Wright also appeared for the first time at a FIFA or AFC tournament.
Wright reported the loss had dampened spirits in the dressing room - even though they were up against the world champions.
"This was a must win for us and we didn't win it. It hurts," Wright said. "We're hurting because we set high expectations of ourselves and each other.
"When we don't reach them and reach our goals it's disappointing. You can't dwell on it for too long, because if you do it can affect you. We'll stick together and make sure we're ready in a few days time to go out there and get a result."
Information from Australian Associated Press was used in this report.