After spending his time as head coach of South Korea totally immersed in the local football scene, Verbeek will oversee an Australian team on Wednesday night that has spent just one training session together before hosting Qatar in a crucial World Cup qualifier.

Europe-based players such as Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer arrived in Melbourne for the clash at the Telstra Dome late on Monday evening, leaving the 51-year-old with little more than 24 hours to get to know many players he had never met in the flesh.

"I know the quality of the players even though I had only met Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell before naming the squad," Verbeek admitted.

"It's a strange situation because I only know most of the players through DVDs, text messages and phone calls.

"In Korea, I knew all the players from 16 through to 35 because I worked with the Olympic team, the Asian Games team and the national side and was involved at all levels.

"Nobody had to tell me anything about the players' character or qualities because I had seen it for myself. It's very different here, although I have people around me to inform me. But it is a strange situation."

The influx of the nation's star players for the Socceroos' first game in a group that also features Asian champions Iraq and 2002 World Cup qualifiers China, flies in the face of Verbeek's original vision for his squad.

But after deciding the players performing week-in, week-out in the domestic A-League lacked the experience required to succeed against some of Asia's strongest teams, he chose to call up the country's leading lights.

"It's a big challenge and when I came here at first I had hoped we could use the A-League players in the game against Qatar, so I didn't have to bring the players from Europe back," he said.

"But in the end I decided it was too risky because they don't have any international experience.

"All the clubs play with different systems so you could have five or six players playing with one system and four or five others playing in another. So you would have five or six who would understand what you want and others who didn't.

"They also have not played any international matches, so it wasn't possible. When I look back now it was mission impossible. We tried it, we gave them a chance and now I can look in the mirror and say I gave it a try.

"I have made my mind up and we will select the best players and they are all here and all of them are excited."

The decision to not rely on the locally based players, however, saw Verbeek inadvertently courting controversy.

The Australian media latched on to Dutchman's suggestions that players training with club sides in Europe were still being exposed to a higher level of football than those performing in the fledgling A-League.

"I explained later that I didn't say it to insult anyone, I was just being honest," he said. "I said if you train six or seven times a week for a Bundesliga club then you are playing at a higher level than in the A-League.

"Everybody says, 'You are right,' but nobody wants you to say it. But at least they know I am honest.

"In three years they have done so well with the league. As entertainment it is unbelievable because there are lots of chances and goals in every game. But as a coach I'm looking for something different than the fans. I want tactical discipline, no mistakes and chances. I see a lot that we have to improve.

"It was a slip of the tongue and I didn't want to say anything shocking but it was my honest opinion. But because of it, football was on the back page instead of cricket and that can only be a good thing."

Wednesday's meeting with Jorge Fossati'sQatar side will be Verbeek's debut as Socceroos coach and his first since standing down as Korea coach after guiding the team to third place at the Asian Cup in July.

It will be Australia's first World Cup qualifier since joining the Asian Football Confederation at the start of 2006 and Verbeek is confident his side can make a winning start to their campaign to qualify for South Africa.

"I know them very well," he said of the Qataris.

"They have a new coach and I think they will come here for a point and if they have the chance to steal three points they will do that.

"But I think we have the quality to win. They have had five weeks together and we have had the whole team together for just one training session. It's not going to be easy but Qatar know they are in a tough group and they will come here for a point."