A number of youngsters have been catching the eye of fans both at home and abroad but missed out on selection for the latest Socceroos squad.

And Osieck revealed the reason was because they might shine for five minutes - but would often go missing for the rest of the game.

"You are never as good as you think you are," he warned them while refusing to name names. "You are always as good as others think you are.

"There are younger players that have the talent but you don't see the desire. There have been a number of younger players that people would probably like to see...but, no.

"They have the odd action and you don't see them for 20 minutes, then you have a one-one situation and everyone says: 'Oh, did you see that?'"

Osieck said he'd come to the conclusion after being a regular at A-League games across the country, often avoiding the VIP areas to watch the games incognito.

And he'd been disappointed by the lack of commitment from some of the lauded youngsters.

But he hailed the effort of Melbourne Heart's Michael Marrone as an example of the passion he was looking for, even though the youngster had been overlooked at all youth levels of the Australia national team until now.

"Marrone's selection should indicate that I'm appreciating consistency in performance," he said. "He did a good job for Heart, he played solid football over the season.

"He did a decent job so therefore I thought give him a chance and show some appreciation for it. On top of that, give it as an incentive for other A-League players that they are on the radar and definitely get recognition.

"It's not just a reward for him, it's a signal for other players as well."

Osieck also justified his other controversial appointments, including leftback David Carney who rarely saw game-time at his previous club in the Spanish second division and has just moved to join Bunyodkor in Uzbekistan.

"Carney is more a gesture," admitted Osieck. "I want to have him back. He played his last game against Germany when he did well anfd scored.

"He had a very difficult time in between with shoulder surgery and signed for a new club. To call him in doesn't mean he'll play but I want to call him back and make him feel he is part of the squad.

"I thought it was a good opportunity to get him in again. Whenever he got called in, he did well and performed for the team. He fits in very quickly."

Archie Thompson has also earned a recall in front of his home fans despite suffering a wretched run of form in the A-League recently where he has struggled to score.

But Osieck said his infectious personality lifted the squad as a whole - and tipped his recent bad luck to change.

"Archie is a very special player and he does a lot of work for the team," said Osieck. "He is a handful for each and every defence he plays.

"I must admit I have some weakness for Archie because he is such a positive character, he is a good guy to have in the group.

"Right now he is in a place where he doesn't have that little bit of luck but I am 100% convinced that the way he works, he is going to be there again and hopefully he will prove that on Wednesday.

"I have every confidence in him."

Osieck was also pleased to welcome back Nick Carle into the squad and dismissed any suggestion this was his last chance to shine for the Socceroos.

"Carle - i just think he deserves a call in because he plays well for Sydney," said Osieck. "It's always a fine line - what do you rate more, team success or individual performance?

"He really worked hard for team success. I really appreciated his team commitment and the way he fought for the team.

"I really think that the way he tried to have an impact on his team to drive his team forward was very good."

Teamwork and consistency was the theme of the squad for Osieck and sent out the strong message to the young stars coming through to work on their complete game, not just eye-catching glimpses.

He included Matthew Spiranovic for the same reason and tipped him for a huge future.

He added: "Spira made a good development in the second part of our qualifying campaign and he played very solidly and I'm very happy with him.

"Look at his age and look at the number of the games he's played already. Down the road he's going to be one of our Socceroos.

"I'm very happy with his development."