Players' union boss Craig Foster has said the Socceroos will give their all for Australia in the Confederations Cup, but are still unhappy about delays in player payment agreement negotiations with the Football Federation of Australia (FFA).

Australia plays Germany in the opening game of the Confederations Cup on Thursday (AEST).

And with 2006 World Cup Qualifiers scheduled for later in the year, the players' union was hoping to sort out the distribution of player payments months ago.

But Foster said the FFA and Australian Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) were still some way from an agreement, with PFA chairman Brendan Schwab flying to Germany to meet with FFA boss John O'Neill overnight.

"The situation is there's been negotiations going on for a great deal of time ... and at this point of time the only deal that's been offered by the FFA is unacceptable to both us and the players," the PFA chief-executive told Sydney radio station 2SM.

"We tried and tried to have a deal done (early in negotiations), but we can't sign something that's un-signable.

"There was talk about a deal last November, but that deal was quiet honestly a joke. In fact it saw the current team owing the FFA $200,000 if you can believe that.

"The players are unhappy about the situation, so we've taken the professional approach.

"We want to make sure that doesn't affect in any way the on-field performance, so we've distanced the too. The PFA is handling the talks in Germany and we're trying to amicably come to an agreement with the FFA.

"We're hopeful that something will be agreed in the very near future, but once again, it seems to happen every four-year cycle, and unfortunately I can't report it's been any different this time.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP