To see the last training session for Australia and Argentina,

Neill’s club were almost single-handedly kept in the English Premier League by Tevez’s devastating form in front of goal before he made his protracted transfer to Manchester United.

Today Neill admitted: "He's an inspiration, to be honest. In particular for West Ham at the end of the season, he was a cornerstone in everything that was important to us keeping our premiership status.

"Everything he touched turned to magic. He'd gone six months not looking like scoring or playing, and then all of a sudden in 11 explosive games he pretty much became the best player in the league."

Neill was handed the captain’s armband for the match after Mark Viduka chose not to travel to Melbourne for the match.

Retiring Socceroo Josip Skoko had been linked with the role for his farewell match by Graham Arnold, but the Socceroo coach - also effectively retiring from the role after this match - chose to go with Neill instead.

The defender admitted that, like Viduka, he had come under pressure not to make to journey Down Under for the Argentina match.

“As always, there's pressure,” he said. “"I can understand the club's feelings but it is the ultimate goal to play for your country in games like this one.

"I've been looking forward to this game for a while. It's a no-brainer, isn't it, to be asked to come back and play against Argentina in front of hopefully 80,000 people.

"Even if it was against the Solomon Islands in front of 15,000, it's still the same, you want to play for Australia.

And as skipper, he defended the players drafted back into the side despite a poor showing at the Asian Cup, and backed the inclusion of new faces from the A-League into the squad.

"For 12 months now, we've looked start bleeding lesser known players," he said. But that doesn't mean they're not capable, it just means they haven't been given the chance.

"I said six or seven months ago that I was pleasantly surprised about the quality that had come in and the attitude that they'd shown.

“They're not fazed by the situation and with the confidence and belief that they've shown in themselves, they fitted straight in."

And coach Arnold added: "They can't hide. They've got to show what they can do against that type of opposition.

"These type of players, the 2004 Olympic team players - Brosque, Holman, Valeri, Jade North - these type of guys need to be seen, they need to be given a chance."

Neill insisted the lessons had been learned from Asia, not least by himself.

"I am a footballer," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "I am there to be criticised.

"I have set a standard for myself, and if I don't reach that standard every week, then people are entitled to an opinion.

"I can look myself in the mirror, I know I wasn't up to scratch. But I have put it behind me because I want to move on. What happened happened."

He added: "Hurt? I am thick-skinned. I don't need you guys to tell me whether I am good or bad - I know.

"Am I going to let it affect me? No. Will I learn from it? Yes."

To see the last training session for Australia and Argentina,