Socceroos defender Chris Coyne is desperate to play in Wednesday night's World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan. Last time the two nations met (in Tashkent last September), Coyne was solid in central defence alongside Lucas Neill and is hoping coach Pim Verbeek remembers that performance and give him another opportunity.

"Maybe the fact I've done well against them before might quite possibly be in my favour, who knows?," he said.

"I certainly hope so but until the team is picked on Tuesday or Wednesday I won't count my chickens. There are some good players fighting hard for a start.

"And you have to remember Meggsy (Michael Beauchamp) and Jade (North) have done well when they've played.

"The boss keeps his cards close to his chest and we all respect that because it's healthy competition and we've all had to roll our sleeves up in every training session. There's no easy way in and there shouldn't be."