Socceroos v England: as it happened
When an inexperienced team gives away an early goal its important that they show character, shrug off the disappointment and work themselves back into the game. Overcoming adversity is something that good sides do, and its a characteristic of Australian teams in any number of sports.
On that measure Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou was justifiably pleased with the performance, if not the 2-1 scoreline in England's favour, put in by his under-strength Australia side against an equally experimental England team in Saturday morning's friendly clash at The Stadium of Light. 
The very least that the Socceroos deserved was to get on the scoresheet, even if Eric Dier's own goal with some 15 minutes left was not quite how many envisaged it happening.
It made for a nervous finale for the hosts in an entertaining contest in which England gained a measure of revenge for the embarrassing 3-1 defeat the Socceroos handed out at Upton Park 13 years ago.
The crucial difference between the two teams came at the pointy end of the pitch. England had the sharpness and the players to take advantage of the few chances that came their way. Australia, who had plenty of territory and a lot of the ball, could not convert theirs, Dier's own goal aside.
But the Socceroos, for large parts of this game, looked the equals of their more famous opponents, having long spells of good possession  against an England team that in the first half in particular struggled to take control of opponents they were expected to deal with comfortably.
Australia showed the sort of mentality that Postecoglou demands in coming back strongly after conceding that early goal to debutant Marcus Rashford, with Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic asserting themselves in the centre of the park, Robbie Kruse looking lively and the pacey Brad Smith pushing forward on the left.
The coach afterwards talked about his pride in his players performance, dismissing any suggestions of frustrations. He also pointed out, quite justifiably, that several of his starting line up - Mooy, Perth Glory's Josh Risdon, Brisbane Roar's Jamie Maclaren - had not played any competitive football for a month, since their teams were elminated from the A-League finals.
Had they been sharp enough and fully match fit, who knows what might have happened although to be fair to England they were able to step up a gear when the Socceroos forced the issue, and they often looked very dangerous on the counter attack as Australia pushed forward.
All the headlines in the English media are, quite rightly, about the latest wonderboy of the English game, Manchester United's Rashford, who scored some two and a half minutes into his England debut.
Several teenagers have burst onto the scene in the past to equal acclamation so England fans will be hoping Rashford goes on to have a similar impact to Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen, rather than mimic the disappointing career trajectory of Theo Walcott, a youngster who made a huge impression in his debut season at Southampton and was taken to the 2006 World Cup by Sven Goran Eriksson. Walcott subsequently moved to Arsenal, but has not had the glittering career so many forecast at the time.
Australia has had few such meteroric talents, Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell aside in the days of the "golden generation".
Instead they are a solid collection of working professionals, sprinkled with the stardust offered by creative players like Rogic, whose loping style belies his excellent close control and eye for a pass, and Mooy. The latter  warmed to the task, particularly with good deliveries from set pieces and showed without doubt that he had the touch and the ability to find space and make a difference at this level.
If Arsenal, as has been reported, or any other big clubs were watching Rogic they will surely like what they saw in this game, while Mooy, who is expected to leave Melbourne City over the next few weeks, will not have done his prospects of a move to a bigger club any harm either
Robbie Kruse too, a man whose career has been dogged by so many serious injuries, remains a key for Australia in the front third where his technique and ability to drift into space so often provides an outlet.
Much will be made of the fact that Roy Hodgson did not have Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane, the Premiership's two top English strikers, in his line up, while  Rooney did not appear until the second half, where he made such an explosive early impact scoring England's second and ultimately decisive goal in the 55th minute.
But Postecoglou did not have his talisman, the veteran Tim Cahill, nor the two centre backs regarded as his first choice pairing, Trent Sainsbury and Matthew Spiranovic, the trio all unavailable due to commitments in the Chinese Super League while Mathew Leckie was not available either.
There were international debuts for  Maclaren, the Brisbane Roar striker, and substitute Milos Degenek, the German-based defender whose cross from the right after coming on as a second half substitute created Australia's goal, when Dier headed past his own goalkeeper Fraser Forster.
Postecoglou's project is one of continuous improvement.
He wants to create a squad of 30 or more players who are interchangeable, men whom he can trust to come in and do a job when his counterpart is unavailable, with no loss of performance.
He also wants versatility and adaptability, hence the fact that Mark Milligan, normally a defensive midfielder, slotted in at centre half in this game alongside Bailey Wright - who is fast making a case for himself to be the lynchpin of the defence rather than Spiranovic or Sainsbury.
Posteocoglou will not be happy with the scoreline even though he will be pleased with the commitment and performance of his team. He is a fiercely competitive man and a proud coach who believes Australia should fear no-one and believe they can win any game. 
Talk of plucky efforts and a good show will not console him. Winning or putting up good performances in friendlies might be excellent PR, but beating them in major tournaments is the only thing that will satisfy him. 
Still, he has  plenty to be pleased with from this effort; now he has to galvanise his players for the long journey home and the two games against Greece next Saturday and the following Tuesday.
After that the serious business of World Cup qualifying begins with matches against Iraq on   September 1 and the UAE on   September 6 starting the final leg on the road to Russia.