The Socceroos believe their fitness can prove a point of difference at the World Cup, allowing them to "suffer" against top opponents then come out on top.
That's the view of right wing-back Jacob Italiano after Australia bounced back from a tough start against Switzerland to claim a 1-1 draw in San Diego on Saturday (Sunday AEST).
"When you have really quality players (as opponents), it is difficult at times," Italiano said.
"But I think that we showed that the work we put in, the fitness levels, the intensity levels we have, when maybe it starts to get a bit leggier, the other team slows down a little bit.
"The last game against Mexico and today, we've shown that we're really, really fit.
"We can keep the level high for really long periods of time, and I think that can be a strength of ours for sure."
Coach Tony Popovic has regularly spoken about Australia needing to know how to "suffer" through difficult periods of the game.
That was relevant against Switzerland, who dominated until the 22nd-minute drinks break, including scoring in the 14th.
Italiano said Popovic had told players they needed to "just calm down a little bit" and focus on doing everything with conviction and as a team.
"After that break, we were a bit more in control," Italiano said.
"So obviously we need to do that better from the start."
Australia are ready to withstand difficult moments against Turkey in their Group D opener in Vancouver on Saturday (Sunday AEST)
"Obviously there's going to be times, like in any game - that's football - where the opposition's on top," Italiano said.
"We need to enjoy those periods, the suffer, take it as a positive that we stick together and work through it as a team.
"There's going to be times where quality players are getting on the ball and doing their thing.
"But I think we showed today that if we stick through together as a team, then we can really come out of it and then hurt them as well."
The 24-year-old Italiano hoped the physicality of the warm-up games would hold Australia in good stead.
"There was a bit of feistiness on the pitch today, which is good. It's going to be like that during the World Cup," Italiano said.
"It's good preparation, and we're going to take it game by game.
"We know we can compete. We know we can cause other teams problems, and they need to respect us as well as we need to respect them."
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ā CommBank Socceroos (@Socceroos) June 7, 2026
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And Italiano refused to put any ceiling on where Australia can get to.
"We're not here to take part," the defender said.
"We're here to prove that we can compete on the highest level."
