The revolving door of the striker's position is the perfect example of his horses-for-courses strategy. Without any player to replace Mark Viduka - the consummate frontman - Verbeek has rotated his strikers. Replacing Josh Kennedy with Harry Kewell in Tashkent was the perfect move.

Kennedy, with his prowess in the air, is best suited to a game in which his side has dominant field position or where the opposition has great speed in defence and plays a balanced game - thus negating the counterattack.

The counterattack was an option for Australia because Uzbekistan possessed one fatal flaw: after losing their opening qualifier and now playing at home, they had to win. Verbeek knew that at some point the Uzbeks would commit numbers forward, leaving prime opportunities to strike through the speed of Kewell, Brett Emerton, Brett Holman and Mark Bresciano.

Across the park, Australia had some great performers: Scott Chipperfield was brilliant, Carl Valeri marvellous, and Chris Coyne built on his game against the Netherlands with another outstanding display both on and off the ball. Lucas Neill was also strong, Luke Wilkshire excelled in the first half, and Emerton was bright in his attacking role.

Even the Kuwaiti referee seemed to fall under the Socceroos' spell, dismissing a cast-iron penalty claim after a clumsy Bresciano challenge.

The only criticisms of the Australian performance can be qualified by other considerations. Holman was poor and wilted in the second half - exposing Kewell at the apex too much - but his recent form has been good and his pass to Bresciano late in the second half should have been a goal assist. Jacob Burns struggled badly to keep pace with the passing of his teammates, but he was a late inclusion and had little time to prepare for his role.

So far in qualifying Verbeek's team has adapted in all manner of ways: without a striker in China, with a makeshift defence in June, numerous strike combinations, constant changes in the central midfield. Yet for the most part Verbeek's contortions have come up trumps.

Still, let's remain mindful that Uzbekistan's first half was poor, and Australia needed some heroic defending in the second half. And the only Uzbek who resembled a more skilful Asian-style player was their left winger, who caused Wilkshire all sorts of trouble.

The central defensive pairing of Neill and Coyne was superb, but having now excelled against the Dutch and European-style Uzbeks, Coyne will face a far more exacting test against the smaller, quicker, more nimble and skilful players - and their combinations on the edge of the box - of Japan, Qatar and Bahrain.

Verbeek has been cautious, but if last week is a guide he is gradually proving capable of producing some Hiddink-esque football amid more pragmatic play designed to collect points. Tashkent hosted one of the most heroic Socceroos' performances in our history, and this Dutchman continues to gather points at home and away with guile and dexterity.

More than that, though, he has restored our beloved team to where it should be.