Australia face group leaders Oman on the Gold Coast in November and Okon hopes it won't be another all A-League XI that Verbeek puts out if he hopes to make the Asian Cup in 2011.

He told goldcoast.com.au: "We have some players who are good for their clubs but struggle at international level. Against Oman, the strongest team in the group other than us, we'll need to have at least some European based players on deck or we could face getting too far adrift to qualify.

"People who understand the game know that the success of the national team really depends on what players are doing outside the country rather than here in Australia. That's the reality".

Australia's 1-0 defeat by Kuwait in Canberra last week left Verbeek open to criticism that he should have called on at least some of his overseas players, with particular emphasis on those not currently getting regular first team football such as  David Carney and Josh Kennedy.