Australia, under-strength yet over-powering, last night provided a reminder of the physical quality they have in their ranks, but the Socceroos will need to find firepower if they intend to be crowned, as they are often billed, the best team in Asia.
Yesterday's match with the UAE was recognised by both coaches as a final chance to experiment before the Asian Cup starts tomorrow and Holger Osieck, Australia's manager, took the opportunity to blood several of his young attack-minded players ahead of their first Group C match against India on Monday.
While defenders Sasa Ognenovski and Lucas Neill, as well as midfielder Luke Wilkshire, provided bite, Nathan Burns, the young AEK Athens winger, and Matt McKay, the Brisbane Roar midfielder, failed to capitalise on rare starts with Majed Nasser, the Emirati goalkeeper, not being forced into a save.
Australia will once again be strong favourites and will no doubt find their scoring boots when a full-strength side, complete with Tim Cahill, against India.
But it is against the more robust Asian defences of Bahrain and South Korea - the other two teams in the group - that will be a the test of where they truly stand in Asia's footballing hierarchy.
For 24 years, Australia dominated the Oceania Nations Cup, before being accepted into the Asian Football Confederation in time for the 2007 Asian Cup.
But on their debut, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Japan.
This month they have an opportunity to prove it was an anomaly and not evidence of the famous Aussie confidence being misplaced.