Verbeek was appointed to the top job after Football Federation Australia were jilted at the altar by Zenit St Petersburg coach Dick Advocaat who reneged on the deal he signed to join the Socceroos.

FFA’s Frank Lowy said they had since interviewed 10-15 coaches for the post – including front-runner Omar Troussier – before deciding to offer the job to Verbeek.

“If I’m second-choice out of 15 coaches, then I’m not unhappy,” said Verbeek as he faced the media for the first time as Australia coach. “I think it’s not bad.

“It’s not about me, it’s about Australian football and the way I manage the Australian players. I have to worry about winning the respect of the players first.

“I am very proud and very happy that I am the national team coach for the next two and a half years. It's a major challenge to come to Australia and learn everything about the A-League and the players over there.

“The most important thing we have to do is qualify and I promise to do everything to succeed.”

He added: “I am 100 percent certain that we will succeed and go to the World Cup.

“I am looking forward to it and think it is a fantastic challenge. We will do a great job over the next two and a half years.”

Verbeek was speaking by video-link from Singapore where he had been meeting Lowy, FFA CEO Ben Buckley and technical director Rob Baan.

Lowy also backed Verbeek and claimed that he would have been their first choice for the coaching job if they knew he was interested before they offered it to Advocaat.

“There were many suitable candidates,” added Lowy. “All of those interviewed would have been qualified for the job. We didn’t know Pim at the time.

“But there are not too many who would have been coming to live in Australia and Pim will be. It’s really a major plus for us.

"We've spent enough time with him to know he's compatible with our team and will do us proud. We're looking forward to his success."

Buckley also welcomed Verbeek’s appointment and praised the former South Korea coach’s CV.

“What attracted us to him was his obvious experience at club and national level and his extensive experience in the Dutch football system,” he said.

“He’s committed to Australia and that impressed us.”