Kruse was among the Socceroos best in the tournament opening 4-1 win over Kuwait.
A knee injury wrecked Kruse's chances of performing in Brazil but after completing his long rehabilitation, there was no way he was going to miss this.
The livewire winger was at the centre of much of Australia's most dangerous attacks, particularly in the second half before his substitution.
The 26 year-old was very much relishing his opportunity to perform on the big stage.
"I was feeling excellent, getting into the game and creating a lot of chances," he said.
"I was dribbling them round and felt like I was before the injury.
"I ran a hell of a lot and the whole team did, we worked very hard, pressed them really well.
"No doubt throughout the tournament I'll get better and better, it's a good first game for us all."
His most influential moment was a neat dribble through the box that drew a penalty, converted by captain Mile Jedinak.
"I was going to hit it first time and I saw the defender coming, so I tried to bait him into it and lucky he bit and got me on the foot," he said.
"It was important for us because at 2-1 it was a critical stage of the game."
The chief regret for the Socceroos was the blot on the scoreboard, earned by Kuwait in the opening ten minutes.
"It's bitterly disappointing to concede another one, fortunately tonight we got away with it," he said.
"People have to take leadership of everything and it can't happen again.
With a first-up win under his belt, Kruse set his sights for Tuesday's match with Oman, saying the manner of the opening night success gave the team strength.
"For the first 20-30 minutes of the second half I thought we absolutely tore them apart," he said.
"We've been working on that all week and it's paid dividends tonight.
"Coming from a goal behind is massive for the confidence.
"It's going to be another difficult game, they play similar to Kuwait and we'll do alright."
