A first-half header from veteran Scott Chipperfield in his comeback appearance on the big stage silenced the 35,000 fans inside the Pakhtakor Stadium and proved enough to send the Uzbeks to a defeat that has left their own campaign in tatters.

It was an Australia victory forged in adversity, with the last-minute withdrawal of key midfielder Jason Culina - bed-ridden with a stomach bug - concluding a fraught preparation for the Socceroos. Culina joined a casualty list that included Vince Grella, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Scott McDonald and Matthew Spiranovic, but despite the re-shuffle Verbeek was rewarded with a professional performance highlighted by the defensive steel of skipper Lucas Neill and his rookie partner, Chris Coyne.

The Socceroos could, and should, have put the match beyond Uzbekistan's reach just before half-time, when Mark Bresciano butchered a glorious opportunity with only keeper Ignatiy Nesterov to beat, but the miss didn't come back to haunt them. Despite concerted pressure from the home team for long periods of the second half, Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer didn't have a genuine save to make.

The win, watched by Japan's coach, Takeshi Okada, has given the Socceroos the perfect start to the final round of qualifiers, and much as Verbeek tried to hose down expectations, he could barely disguise his delight.

Asked if Australia had sent a message to their group rivals, which also include Qatar and Bahrain, Verbeek said: "I think we have played better games at certain moments, but, yes, I think they all know now how good we are. When you see how many players we don't have, players with extra quality, then you have to realise this was a very good result. We should not [underestimate] Uzbekistan away - getting the three points, it's great.

"We always said if we win one away game and our four home games, that's 15 points, and that can be enough. This is the first step, a great start, but of course it's only a start. We have seven games to go, but I am so happy because so many players are stepping up, and we will need all of them at some stage."

One player who stepped up was match-winner Chipperfield, the veteran who was sidelined for nine months with a foot injury and who made his first appearance under Verbeek in last month's warm-up game against South Africa. Apart from his crucial goal, Chipperfield re-affirmed how important he is to Australia's defensive balance. Verbeek lauded him afterwards as "a great player".

Chipperfield's performance was worthy given he had Uzbekistan's most incisive player, Islom Inomov, as a direct opponent, and the introduction of Timur Kapadze just before half-time loaded up the home team's attack on the right. But while the Socceroos had to absorb pressure from an increasingly desperate opponent after the break, Verbeek believes the Uzbeks rarely threatened. Luke Wilkshire did make two goalline clearances, but from general play the home team merely huffed and puffed.

"Organisation-wise, we did very well," Verbeek said. "We didn't give one chance away. It looks dangerous because the fans are all fighting and screaming, but how many times did Schwarzer have to dive? I think it was zero."

Verbeek did admit, though, his frustration at the failure of his strikers to hold the ball up. What started as a 4-4-2 became a 4-2-3-1 for the second half, and Harry Kewell - playing at the point - never got to grips with his role once Brett Holman began dropping into midfield. Whether Josh Kennedy, the player singled out by Uzbek coach Rauf Inileev as the danger man, would have made a difference is a moot point, with Verbeek insisting afterwards the towering Karlsruhe forward was "not the type of striker we need in games like this".

Verbeek added: "In the second half the situation was to drop back in our own half because we knew they were quite strong on the counter-attack, but what we didn't do was hold the ball like we did in the first half. The strikers lost the ball too easily, and we were a bit sloppy with the passes to the strikers also."

Kewell's listless display and the yellow card that rules Carl Valeri out of the next qualifier, against Qatar in Brisbane next month, were the only disappointments.