The Australians were 3-0 up by half-time in the Group A clash thanks to goals from Josh Kennedy, Tim Cahill and Mark Bresciano and the performance was even more creditable considering the team's less than ideal preparation.

While the Qataris were in training for five weeks before the match and had played three recent friendlies, 10 of Verbeek's starting line-up only arrived in Melbourne in the days leading up to game because of club commitments in Europe.

So rushed were Australia's preparations that Verbeek only had one training session with his first-choice team prior to his first match in charge.

Yet the Australians destroyed Asia's ninth ranked team to send out a warning to the confederation's elite in what is the Socceroos' first World Cup qualifying campaign in Asia after defecting from the Oceania confederation they dominated for the past 25 years.

Verbeek, who coached South Korea at last year's Asian Cup, believes the Socceroos will measure up to any team in the confederation, his old team included.

"The Koreans play differently (to Australia) - here we try to play combination, tactical football whereas the Koreans keep on fighting and they make it very difficult for you to get the ball," he said.

"So it will not be as easy against a side like Korea as it was in the first half against Qatar because the Koreans won't give you the chance to play so easily.

"But I think we can also do a good job against a side like Korea also, if we have a little bit more preparation."

Australia's mentality also impressed Verbeek, who admitted he was surprised at the way the team switched on for the match after their solitary training session had been littered with errors.

"I enjoyed the atmosphere in the group when they arrived (from Europe)," he said.

"They know each other very well and they were so happy to be together so I really enjoyed seeing that.

"And then if you see how they played in the first half, it says everything you need to know about the quality and mentality of these players."