Degenek bemoans error as Aussies crash out of Asia Cup

The 24-year-old looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up after veteran striker Ali Mabkhout seized on his back pass for a poacher's goal deep in the second half of the quarter-final clash. There was no way back for Graham Arnold's defending champions at Al Ain's Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, despite enjoying two-thirds of possession and clocking up 22 shots.

"Pretty (terrible), to be in this situation. (Terrible) to be in my shoes and my skin," Degenek said afterwards. "But that's football, that's how the situation unfolded. I don't feel sorry so much for myself as I do for my country and my team-mates, because obviously we ended a tournament because of my mistake. But that's life. I've got to deal with it. I've had situations like this before -- you learn, you grow up, you move on."

Degenek, who this week signed for Saudi giants Al Hilal, said his Socceroos team-mates had told him "head up, move on, it happens". "I'm a man, I can accept the fact that I did the mistake but that's football. I'll have many more in my life I think," he said.

Arnold said he would help Degenek, who had looked solid and assured until his moment of madness, get over his mistake and that he had a bright future ahead with Australia. "Obviously he's hurting at the moment but I'll make sure that he's okay. He's a fantastic kid, fantastic professional and he's got a long future with the Australian national team," said the coach.