Simon right for Kuwait

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has dismissed any concerns over the fitness of striker Matt Simon ahead of Thursday's 2011 Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait, but the Dutchman won't make up his mind on his final eleven until after the final training session on Wednesday.

Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek has dismissed any concerns over the fitness of striker Matt Simon ahead of Thursday's 2011 Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait, but the Dutchman won't make up his mind on his final eleven until after the final training session on Wednesday.

Simon sat out of training on Tuesday, but Verbeek said that was just to keep the 23-year-old fresh ahead of the game.

"Matt Simon, we kept him out of training yesterday to save his energy and his legs. But I know he's fit and ready and willing to play, So we have 19 players, 18 players, to do the job tomorrow," Verbeek said.

The Central Coast Mariners striker is a chance to start in the game in the absence of injured Melbourne striker Danny Allsopp. Verbeek admitted Archie Thompson will fill one striking role, but he hasn't decided whether Simon or Queensland's Mitch Nichols will fill the other.

"(Mitch and Simon), one of the two will play, which means you know now that Archie is playing," he said.

But when it came to the rest of the team, Verbeek said he would wait until he saw Wednesday's final training session, which will feature an eleven on eleven match to decide final positions.

"They all look good," he said. "I know more or less what I am going to do, but I'd like to see some confirmation today."

"You have an idea when you start and you have an idea during the training camp to try to find out. That's the advantage of having at least a few days of training, you can see if the players are ready physically, mentally and also if they are touching the ball the way they should," he said.

One thing Verbeek won't have to worry about is the surface with the Canberra Stadium lawn looking as much like a bowling green as a football pitch.

"I knew that the surface was fantastic, I was here last week and it was already good. And if you look outside it's a great surface," he said.

He is also confident that whatever team he picks, they will be up for the challenge of living up to the expectations of being favourite heading into the match.

"It's about results. It's not a friendly match. It's about qualification for the Asian Cup. That's a different pressure when playing in the league when you know you can lose a game and can come back the next week," he said.

"Every game here with the national team is like a grand Final, because every game you have to win and that's a different approach. The way I saw the players yesterday at training and during the week, I think they are good enough to win the game tomorrow night."

Tickets for the match, which kicks-off at 8.00pm AEDT, are available from Ticketek (web: www.ticketek.com.au, Phone: 132 894 and all Ticketek agencies).