Underdogs Kuwait battered Australia 2-0 in their Asia Cup qualifier in Kuwait City on September 6.
The Socceroos, already qualified for the finals of the competition, struggled in the arid conditions and 40-degree heat despite their clear superiority in talent and skill.
Even with seven members of their World Cup squad in the lineup which is made up of European-based professionals, Australia struggled to adapt to the difficult conditions after only two training sessions in the adverse conditions.
In contrast, Kuwait held a 10-day training camp in Turkey.
The Australians dominated the first half, but struggled to capitalise on their good build-ups. Their cause was not helped by a knee injury to Ahmed Elrich which could see him miss the rest of the season.
Elrich’s replacement, Ryan Griffiths, had the best scoring opportunity of the first half, but he missed a sitter from two metres out in the 42nd minute.
John Aloisi also had a frustrating half, missing three scoring opportunities as one shot hit the crossbar and two others went wide.
Aloisi also required treatment after sustaining a cut on his face.
Kuwait took good advantage of their opportunities in the second half and went ahead in the 55th minute after the Socceroos defence gave Khalaf al Mutairi far too much space allowing him to send Jarah al Ataiqi’s fine cross into the back of the net.
Kuwait sealed the match five minutes later when Australia dropped their guard again, this time Badar al Mutwa found the back of the net from a tight angle.
Interim Australian coach Graham Arnold said he was disappointed that his players didn’t score in the first half, knowing that fatrigue would take it’s toll in the latter stages.
"We definitely had the better chances to win in the first half and it would have been a totally different game if we had," he said.
"We knew the longer the game progressed we would become more tired because of the heat and we were hoping to score in the first half to kill the game," Arnold added.
"We are not used to the weather in this part of the world. The heat and humidity took their toll on our players and they struggled,” he said.
Arnold praised the Kuwaitis, however: “They rose to the occasion tonight, they were really up for the game. They were disciplined and organized and they had the better performance.”
In other Asian Cup qualifiers, in Group A, Saudi Arabia booked their place in next year's tournament with a 7-1 battering of India as Saleh Bashir and Ahmed al Mehiani each scored twice to retaliate after India took the lead in the 22nd minute through NS Manju.
Japan are all but qualified after a last-gasp victory over Yemen in Sana’a as Kazumi Ganaha scored the game’s only goal in the 90th minute. Japan are second in Group A six points clear of Yemen and a 12-goal difference with two matches remaining.
Qatar also qualified for the finals after their 3-0 win over Bangladesh, and United Arab Emirates became the fifth nation following their goalless draw with Jordan.

2007 Asian Cup qualifying group results:
Matchday 4

Group A
Saudi Arabia 7, India 1
Japan 1, Yemen 0

Group B
South Korea 8, Taiwan 0
Iran 2, Syria 0

Group C
Oman 5, Pakistan 0
UAE 0, Jordan 0

Group D
Kuwait 2, Australia 0