Australia captain David Pocock was left smarting over their wastefulness in Saturday's shock 23-19 Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina.

Michael Cheika's side have now lost three of their last four matches, but had the chance to snatch a win late on at the Cbus Super Stadium, only for Israel Folau to try to go it alone rather than pass to the unmarked Bernard Foley.

And Pocock acknowledged that the Wallabies will have to stew on their missed opportunities after suffering a first defeat to the Pumas on home soil since 1983.

"Argentina are a good team, we missed a lot of opportunities and we will be dirty about that, but the Pumas played a game that got them the win," said Pocock.

"Credit to Argentina, they played a smart game and put the pressure on us. Every time we got down there, they made a play and made us cough up the ball."

Meanwhile, Argentina skipper Agustin Creevy hailed the win as a momentous occasion in the Pumas' history.

"We are really happy we have got this win. It is really important for us and our history," said Creevy.

"We need it to continue. We know this pitch is really fast so we prepared to really run and that was the key in this match."