The tough-talking Serb had nothing to say when asked about runaway Group 4 leaders Uzbekistan, only that the Lions had fast improved and would only accept victory at home on Monday.

"When you get to this level, all the teams are good but it’s just about points now," Avramovic told Reuters.

"We’re only going for the points, regardless of who we play. The players are confident they can prove themselves."

Southeast Asian champions Singapore, whose team includes naturalised Bosnians, Britons and Nigerians, are second in the table with three points.

Abramovic added: "We will go all out. We’re not the same team we used to be, we are now more experienced at this level."

Dynamo Kiev’s Maksim Shatskikh is expected to lead the charge for the Uzbeks and will be their most likely source of goals after scoring six in his last three qualifiers, including five in a single match against Taiwan.

Neither side has appeared at a World Cup finals, although Uzbekistan came close last time.

Their 2006 qualifying campaign ended in acrimony when FIFA ordered a replay of their game with Bahrain because of a refereeing error.

Their subsequent defeat denied the central Asian side a chance to playoff for a berth in the 2006 finals in Germany.