The Socceroos sent their World Cup confidence skyrocketing, bravely holding The Netherlands to a 1-1 draw with 10 men in a dramatic friendly international in Rotterdam.

Australia fought back from a goal down, then was reduced to 10 men for the final 30 minutes after midfielder Luke Wilkshire was given a second yellow card for a nasty challenge on Holland's Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

In a bruising and physical encounter, the world No.3 Dutch led 1-0 after just 10 minutes when Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy hammered home - a deserved lead after the Oranje dominated the opening 45 minutes.

But in Australia's most important pre-World Cup hitout, the Socceroos stunned the World Cup fancy and the 50,000-plus crowd at the De Kuip Stadium by equalising through substitute Tim Cahill in the 52nd minute.

Skipper Mark Viduka had earned a penalty when pulled down in the box, but blasted his spot-kick attempt against the bar, only for Cahill to be in the right place at the right time to bang home the rebound.

Pivotal to Australia's survival was goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who pulled off several outstanding saves to keep his side in the match - the best a diving full-length stop late in the first half from a Wesley Sneijder long-range shot.

He also made three brilliant saves in the opening 15 minutes of the second half to surely give himself the inside running for a starting role in Australia's World Cup opener against Japan on June 12 in Kaiserslautern.

After hanging on so courageously, there was a final nervous moment for the Aussies in the 90th minute when Robin van Persie thundered a free-kick against the right-hand post.

But it bounced away and the Socceroos emerged with a draw Guus Hiddink was thrilled with, against a side rated among the World Cup favourites.

"The achievement gives us confidence, but there's nothing guaranteed (when the World Cup comes around)," said Hiddink, coaching against the country of his birth for the first time.

"In general, we worked very hard and we kept our opponent under control."

The Socceroos head to Germany on Tuesday to their World Cup training camp at Friedrichruhe, near Stuttgart, where they will be based throughout the group stage of the tournament.

They play one more pre-World Cup friendly - against Liechtenstein in Ulm on Wednesday.

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