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The Socceroos were uncharacteristically poor at set pieces in their Asian Cup win over India but defender Kye Rowles is adamant there is nothing to worry about.

Centre-back Kye Rowles is confident the Socceroos' woeful set pieces in their opening Asian Cup win over India were a one-off as they eye better bang for their buck against Syria.

Set pieces have been a reliable route to goal for the Socceroos, with towering defender Harry Souttar and powerful forward Mitch Duke particularly dangerous targets.

But against India the Socceroos swung in 14 corners - 11 of them in the first half - for no reward, while their free kicks also lacked bite.

Regular set-piece takers Craig Goodwin and Martin Boyle's delivery was found wanting while India handled Australia's height brilliantly - in a potential blueprint for other opponents.

Rowles, who typically joins Souttar at attacking corners, played down any concerns ahead of Thursday's match at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

"We had a few planned for the India game and they defended very, very well," he said.

"They were tight-marking, they just threw themselves at every loose ball and for the most part, the first contacts they did very well to get anything on as well.

"They dealt very well with our height. Hopefully we can just tidy up a little bit on the delivery and the runs as well.

"There was a couple that were only a couple of inches off.

"So that's just a matter of 'maybe another day we're in the right spot, all the balls hit our heads instead of theirs'.

"It's nothing to worry about at the moment."

Rowles was selected ahead of Cameron Burgess for the opening game, reuniting with World Cup partner Souttar in the centre of defence.

Burgess had been Arnold's go-to in recent matches.

"It's good to have that competition between me and Cam," Rowles said.

"Competition is never a bad thing.

"You're just pushing each other to get into that team and it can only make the team better because you know that you've got to be on your game every day; not only in the games, but at training you've got to be on it.

"If you have one bad day at training you're on edge, because you're, 'Well, am I going to be in the team now?'.

"So just to be always on your toes. It's a great thing to have for not only myself but for everyone involved."