Veteran Socceroo Mathew Leckie has urged his young Melbourne City teammate Marco Tilio to keep his head down and block out speculation over his World Cup selection fate.
Tilio is among the fringe players grappling for one of the final spots in Australia's 26-man squad for Qatar.
Leckie, 31, is poised to attend his third World Cup after debuting in Brazil in 2014, and urged the 21-year-old to shut out distractions and focus on his club football.
"I can talk from my experience when I was younger and I was fortunate enough to go to Brazil," Leckie told reporters on Wednesday.
"The biggest issue for him is that there is so much talk about him potentially making it.
"The most important thing is to just put his head down and keep working ... and not get caught up in what's being said.
"Because every player is different, everyone takes news differently, but it definitely can play with your mind.
"We all know what talents Tilio has, he's a very exciting young talent.
"The most important thing for him is just to take every opportunity he gets, and also just take out the noise and work hard."
A-League Men players are halfway through a six-game opportunity to showcase their wares before the World Cup.
Leckie, now fully settled back in Melbourne, has excelled in City's opening three victories to further cement his Socceroos standing.
"I'm feeling good," he said.
"After the qualification, the most important thing for me was to think about trying to get as fit as I possibly could and having a good start to the season.
"(I'm) just trying to do all the right things, to stay fit and also do well here at Melbourne City. So far, so good for the club and for the team."
Leckie is confident he has built enough match fitness to shine in Qatar.
"Each week I'm feeling better and better," he said.
"From game one, (where I was) sort of fatiguing towards the end of the game, to the last two games, I can feel (I'm) getting stronger.
"Three more games, (if) all goes well, stay healthy, and I'll be in great shape."
