Mark Schwarzer is in a buoyant mood as Fulham prepare for the Europa League final against Atletico Madrid. The North London club have defied all odds to make it through to the last two of Europe's second tier competition, beating off the likes of Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus, Wolfsburg and Hamburg along the way and their Australian goalkeeper believes it is a great achievement by such a small club and is so wrapped up in it that he hasn't given a minutes thought to the upcoming World Cup.

"It's a truly remarkable accomplishment for a club like Fulham," Schwarzer said.

"With the season we've had it's been really difficult to even focus on the World Cup. It's at the back of my mind.

"I've got a whole heap of World Cup balls that we've kicked around for five minutes at training, but my intentions had been to get a couple of decent sessions in with the World Cup balls in preparation for the tournament, but it's been almost impossible.

"Games have been piling up - two games a week, stock standard, for almost all season.

"But I'm in a great situation to have played so many games and to have had a successful run in Europe.

"Hopefully it can continue to the point where I'll improve even more, so at the World Cup I'll be in good condition and in good physical shape."