And he paid tribute to the resilience of the side at being able to come back from the disappointment of losing in the Asian Cup final and the World Cup capaign before that.

"It's just a great response, like we always seem to do, we learn from our mistakes and make sure we don't do it again," the 33-year-old told AFP.

"As well as losing the Asian Cup final, it has been a great education to bounce back. We put those bad performances behind us and come back with a really good win.

"This is great for the future of the game in our country: by knocking off big teams, we keep surprising ourselves with good performances and give the young lads an amazing platform to build on.

"This will make us stronger."

He added:  "The momentum is with us and it is important to keep getting results like this.

"We'd have taken this result in the World Cup, but we live and learn and we'll be a better team for it and that is important for the country."

Australia struggled badly in the first half, with Germany dominating possession and the Socceroos barely able to make it out of their own half.

"I was a bit surprised in the first-half, we didn't show the hunger and belief we usually show as the under-dog," admitted Neill.

"We made a few adjustments during the half-time break and they paid off. We kept giving the ball away in the first-half, we adjusted and created those two chances.

"Once we got our noses in front, we made it hard for them. It's a huge win, we have come away with an historic and amazing victory."