Yet another disallowed goal was the only potential strike to spoil Schwarzer's impeccable record in the qualifiers which has seen him go more than 11 hours without conceding a goal.

Even the revamped defence - with the untested Chris Coyne and Mark Miligan central partnership - couldn't be broken with Schwarzer marshalling them into line.

"It's been fantastic," admitted the shotstopper after the game. "The guys have worked extremely hard and I'm extremely proud of the way everyone's gone about their job.

 "To be so far with two games to go is an unbelievable achievement. If we can push on again against Japan and keep another clean sheet then we can't do any better than that."

Schwarzer has been having the season of his life, both with the Socceroos and at his domestic club, Fulham.

But he admits it's been tough going at times - and a result is all that's been important, not the style of the victory.

"It's been very hard going to all the countries," he said. "It's hard to understand how difficult the conditions are watching on TV. Sometimes we just have to get the job done and it's not been pretty."

But Schwarzer vowed the 'Roos would only get better with such a long time to prepare for the World Cup - and even had a word of sympathy for his rivals for the Socceroo gloves.

He added: "We have 12 months now to prepare for the World Cup and push on from this.

"I don't want to miss any game. It's unfortunate for any of the other keepers in the squad but I just want to keep playing because you never know when your last game will be..."