A last-gasp equaliser after a night of frustration left newly appointed Socceroos captain Mark Milligan a pleased man on Saturday night.
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The 33-year-old led the team in the 1-1 draw against South Korea at Suncorp Stadium just hours after being confirmed as the man to take up the armband from retired Mile Jedinak.
Milligan will lead Australia in the defence of their Asian Cup in January and said Massimo Luongo's 94th-minute equaliser against their fellow regional powerhouse shows the strong bond within Graham Arnold's team.
"The way we played shows the commitment that the boys have to taking in information in a short time," Milligan told AAP.
"I thought for the most part we were wonderful in hitting targets tonight and things that we've been working on, rotations and things like that.
"Obviously a few small things we need to get right, but I think when you have that fight and that commitment, you can't really go wrong."
Milligan will now set about establishing his leadership ahead of the Asian Cup, which kicks off for Australia with a group stage encounter against Jordan in Al Ain on January 6.
The veteran defender is one of those who lifted the trophy on home soil four years ago and said it's an honour to be appointed captain going into next year's tournament.
"I've got a very good group of boys around me," Milligan said.
"We've put together a leadership group, so there's a few of us there that have been making decisions and getting things done over the last few camps.
"I'm very confident going forward that we have a good leadership group that will be able to lead this group to success."
Australian Associated Press