Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou insists confidence will not be affected by a surprise 1-0 loss to Qatar and has taken responsibility for a downturn in form ahead of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. Australia succumbed to a Khalfan Ibrahim goal in the second half of their friendly at the Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Stadium on Wednesday morning, following a frustrating 0-0 draw with the United Arab Emirates four days earlier.



When asked by Fox Sports if the unexpected loss would be damaging to morale in the national team camp, Postecoglou said: "It shouldn't be."



"That's my job. I'm making these decisions and I'll take responsibility for the consequences. We're still preparing for the Asian Cup and making sure we're ready for that.



"We're still achieving our outcomes, we're still exposing players that would have learned a hell of a lot tonight. The pieces of the puzzle are being put together but I also understand that results need to improve. That's my responsibility, I'm making these decisions and to a large extent these results are my doing."



Having been able to pick his likely first-choice attacking line-up of Robbie Kruse, Tommy Oar and Tim Cahill, the Socceroos boss claimed to be pleased with what he saw from his side going forward in Doha.



"I thought we looked really good in parts, played some of our best football," he said.



"Really disappointing goal to concede, very sloppy. You pay the price and from our perspective it's not good enough.



"But that's the game of football, we've got to make sure we capitalise on our chances. Really disappointing we conceded the goal because I felt at 0-0 we were always going to be the ones that got on top. If we'd got one goal we'd have opened them up. It's a harsh lesson to learn."



Australia's next friendly is against Japan in Osaka on November 18, before their Asian Cup opener against Kuwait in Melbourne on January 9.