The Australian national team hopes that Tim Cahill has a couple of more international goals left in his feet. (Andy Mead/YCJ Photo)
Tim Cahill might be 37-years-old and not totally match fit, but Australia national coach Ange Postecoglou feels the former Red Bulls midfielder can help the team in its World Cup qualifying quest.
Cahill, who is Australia’s all-time goal-scorer with 48 goals in 94 appearances, was named to the Aussies’ 23-man team for qualifiers against Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
He was overlooked for November’s qualifier against Thailand and hasn’t played much for his club, Melbourne City in the last month.
The Australians slipped to third place in Asian Group B behind Saudi Arabia and Japan after a disappointing 2-2 tie in Bangkok. The top two spots that guarantee automatic qualification for next year’s global showpiece in Russia.
The Socceroos visit Iraq in Tehran March 23 and host the United Arab Emirates in Sydney March 28. The latter is the first of three home matches which round out their qualifying campaign.
“From our perspective, it’s not the first time we’ve brought Timmy in with limited game time,” Postecoglou told reporters. “He’s proved pretty resilient in the past in being able to do a job for us.
“With Timmy, there’s no expectations on him to play two 90 minutes of football. It’s more about the impact he can make in the two games.”
Cahill played with the Red Bulls from 2012-14.