Australia stepped up their fitness preparation for the World Cup finals with an arduous fitness-based first training session at their Johannesburg base.

The Socceroos are one of the few nations to have arrived in South Africa so far and skipper Lucas Neill believes that arriving early to train in the conditions they will face during the tournament could give his side a competitive edge.

"We're trying to get used to this altitude 1700m above sea level. No-one was shocked to not see a ball come out," he said. "Everyone did really well and it's great to have a fully fit team now to be participating in training."