Australia progressed after a 3-1 victory over Qatar in Doha on the weekend.

The Dutchman arrived in Sydney on Monday morning on a flight from the Middle East and plans to field a core group of senior players against China.

Early indications from Football Federation Australia (FFA) were that World Cup captain Lucas Neill, who was slated to feature against China, would now not play given the fixture was a dead rubber.

"He (Kewell) has the respect of all of the players," Verbeek told journalists.

"I'm very happy with Harry as a captain and also on the field and outside the field."

But Kewell would not be installed as permanent Socceroo leader, he said, declaring his preference for multiple captaincies.

"I've read an article about (Portugal coach Luiz Felipe) Scolari and Scolari has five captains and I think that's a good idea," Verbeek said.

"For me Lucas Neill was the captain number one because we didn't know how it was going to go with Harry and I'm very happy with Lucas. I think Mark Schwarzer did a good job organising the central defenders.

"So I'm very happy I have experienced players who have leader qualities."