Defender Bailey Wright put his name in lights with a goal on debut in the Socceroos' win over Saudi Arabia.
But it was the 22-year-old's work behind the scenes that most impressed Australian captain Mile Jedinak.
Wright earned praise from his teammates and coach Ange Postecoglou for a solid debut in an inexperienced Socceroos backline in Monday's 3-2 win in London.
The Preston North End centre back had to shoulder more responsibility than expected when veteran defender Alex Wilkinson was forced off after just six minutes, leaving him to help marshall a youthful defensive line including Trent Sainsbury, Chris Herd and Jason Davidson.
"I thought Bailey was very composed at the back for a player playing his first game," Jedinak said.
"For a young boy he's got quite an experienced head.
"He's very vocal which is great, particularly when its a relatively inexperienced backline.
"He got his goal but other than that I thought he was very, very solid."
While Wright and his fellow defender were stretched badly by the Saudis in the second half, he scored what proved to be a vital goal in the 77th minute.
Wright has a knack for scoring at club level, netting four times for Preston last season, and he instinctively headed in from close range after Sainsbury cleverly headed a ball across goal from a corner.
"It just dropped for me in the box," Wright said.
"I wasn't going to let this one not go in, even if I had to run it in with a rugby tackle it was going in. I made sure of it."
After featuring in Postecoglou's World Cup squad without playing, Wright is hoping he's now shown the coach he has a role to play leading into next year's Asian Cup.
"When I got my chance I was never going to let it slip," Wright said.
"I was always going to grab it with two hands."
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