The Socceroos' first venture into the Asian Cup was a huge letdown and there was plenty of stick flying in the direction of both Graham Arnold and the players after the 2007 tournament.

There was talk of not enough preparation, arrogance and rival teams were not slow to have a go at the Socceroos.

The footballing public has not forgotten but Kewell is looking forward to an altogether happier story at the 2011 event in Qatar.

"We're going to go for it. We were disappointing in the last Asian Cup and I think a lot of people have ridden that wave a lot now," he told reporters in Oman.

"I think this is why they're still giving us stick because maybe they're trying to push us to achieve more knowing that we're capable of doing more. We want to put the record straight."

Kewell and his colleagues go into Sunday morning's encounter looking to complete the double over their hosts, a Tim Cahill goal having given the Socceroos a 1-0 win over Oman in Melbourne last month.