There will be no shying away by the Socceroos in their Argentina rematch, with midfielder Riley McGree challenging the world champions to "bring it on" in Beijing.
Australia will play the South American powerhouse in the Chinese capital on Thursday in a juicy rematch after the Socceroos' 2-1 round-of-16 loss at last year's Qatar World Cup.
Only a brilliant close-range save from Emiliano Martinez stopped Garang Kuol from equalising in the final moments of regular time, Argentina then going on to lift the trophy.
Lionel Messi awaits again in China this week, the Socceroos naming 19-year-old defender Alessandro Circati and goalkeeper Thomas Glover in their first national squads and leaving behind a host of regulars.
Fresh off an enterprising English Championship season with Middlesbrough, McGree has arrived in Beijing with the squad fresh and full of confidence.
"We were pushing ... if it wasn't for big moments, maybe the game would have swayed a different way and the outcome would have been different," McGree recalled on Saturday as the squad filtered into their Beijing camp.
"As a team and individuals it gives you the belief you can do it against the best in the world.
"No matter who you come up against you're a chance and if you play together and believe in yourselves and each other, then bring it on."
Former England midfielder Michael Carrick turned heads with his style of play after taking over the Middlesbrough coaching duties last year, their 22-9-15 campaign good enough for fourth in this season's second-tier competition.
McGree was in the thick of it, invited to roam on the left in an atmosphere he said was similar to the Socceroos'.
"I had a kind of a free role in what I did," the 24-year-old from Adelaide said.
"A bit of free-flowing enjoyment, I always went out and played and enjoyed football.
"There's a lot of similarities here in the national team; they back us through anything and we have to go out there with that confidence in ourselves as well."
He said there was a queue forming to ask Messi for a shirt-swap after the game, but that Cam Devlin would be shunted to the back of it after he managed to leave Qatar with the prized possession.
