With group qualification already confirmed, this final round three World Cup qualifier was technically a dead-rubber for the Socceroos.

But the veteran Fulham keeper took plenty of positives out of the match at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

“I mean, you look at Bresh [Mark Bresciano] and I thought he was outstanding,” the Socceroo keeper told au.fourfourtwo.com.

“Brosky [Alex Brosque] was outstanding, H [Harry Kewell] was excellent too.

"There are a lot of positives to come out of the game. The great thing was that a number of players took their opportunities."

Schwarzer conceded the first half was well below par but a half-time rollicking from coach Holger Osieck and some timely second half substitutions did the trick.

A three-goal burst late on turned around the 2-1 deficit from the break, and the Socceroos never looked back.

“Once the second half started, the belief was there,” said Schwarzer. “We lifted to another gear and the Saudis struggled to cope with us.”

Schwarzer flew back to England at 5am on Thursday ahead of a tricky match for his EPL outfit where the 11th placed Cottagers entertain a desperate Wolves at Craven Cottage this weekend.

And the tough games are set to continue in the fourth round of 2014 World Cup qualifiers, said Schwarzer.

“There are never any easy games and we knew it’d be tough against Saudi Arabia for two reasons," he added.

“We knew they needed to win to ensure qualification and for us, on paper, it wasn’t the strongest squad with some players being given opportunities.

“So it’s nice to finish this group on a win and now we can hopefully get a favourable draw in the next round.

“But it’ll be tough, no matter who we get drawn against.”

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