But unless Australia's up-and-comers prove to be late bloomers and progress to playing at major clubs in big leagues, then this may be the last World Cup qualifying campaign in which the Socceroos can expect to qualify with a minimum of fuss.

The money being pumped into the game throughout the Middle East and south-east Asia will eventually bear fruit and the improvement that has been noted in recent qualifying campaigns will only continue. In the last phase the Socceroos found Thailand much more of a challenge than they would have four years earlier, while they lost to their host Oman (1-0) the last time they met in Muscat seven months ago.

Japan, already a powerhouse, is producing more and more high-quality players: Shinji Kagawa has just won the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and has been linked recently with Chelsea and Manchester United. Wing-back Yuto Nagatomo is with Inter Milan, Ryo Miyaichi is on the books at Arsenal. Kagawa aside, another five of the Japanese squad play in the Bundesliga.

Osieck was asked, when he named his squad, whether it was a cause for concern that few of his younger players were making the grade at clubs in big leagues. The German, never one to mince his words, admitted that he would like to see some of those on whom the workload will fall heaviest over the next few years make the transition to higher status.

This 26-man squad contains no fewer than nine men who were part of Guus Hiddink's squad in Germany in 2006, with several of them, including 34-year-old skipper Lucas Neill, either first-choice players or very close to it.