Town officials spent months planning a lavish reception and thousands of people, in traditional German dress and waving Australian flags, lined the cobbled roads around the marketplace where the mayor was waiting to greet them.

The crowd roared in anticipation and a jazz band burst into a rendition of Aretha Franklin's "It's Raining Men" when a convoy of police cars suddenly arrived carrying four Australian players.

The celebrations turned flat when it became apparent the best players had failed to show. Three of the four who attended are not in the World Cup squad while the fourth, midfielder Luke Wilkshire, is suspended.

High-performance director John Boultbee said Australia wanted to concentrate on training.

NO SNUB

"We're not snubbing Oehringen," he told reporters. "We're absolutely thrilled we're here and able to be part of the party they're putting on.

"There'll be plenty of welcomes here in Oehringen and the team will be involved throughout the next two weeks.

"We're working into it a bit slowly but they'll be out and about and we'll show our gratitude to these fantastic hosts as time goes on."

Mayor Jochen Kubler tried to conceal his disappointment.

"We heard this morning they had no time to come but that's no problem," he said. "We will have other chances to meet them.

"We would be glad if they had come to this reception but we are not (disappointed). It's ok."

Australia, appearing in the World Cup for the first time in 32 years, also refused to speak to journalists when they arrived on Monday.

Boultbee said the staff were struggling to cope with the enormity of the event.

"I think everybody from Australia, including you people from the press, are now realising this is huge," he said. "It's the world's biggest event and the size of it and the interest in it is enormous."

Australia launch their campaign against Group F rivals Japan [Images] in Kaiserslautern on June 12.