Football
AAP 7y

Tim Cahill vows to be 'fearless' in Australia's crunch match with Thailand

Tim Cahill has vowed to lead a "fearless" Socceroos performance against Thailand that gives Australia the best possible chance of qualifying for the World Cup.

Ange Postecoglou's side meets the world No. 130s in Melbourne on Tuesday night in a do-or-die affair.

It isn't as simple as "win and they're in" but a strong victory would certainly give Australia an advantage over rivals Saudi Arabia, who play Japan hours later.

Japan defeated Australia 2-0 on Thursday, with Postecoglou describing his side's performance as "lacking in conviction and belief."

Cahill says there will be no repeat of that effort against Thailand.

"We need to go out there and be fearless," he said. "We all know what's on the line.

"This is a massive moment for our country to stake a claim in a World Cup. I feel we're ready.

"Goals will definitely come. I'm confident we'll score a lot of goals and I'm confident that we'll make a great account of ourselves."

Like the rest of the Australian squad, the 37-year-old is desperate to reach a fourth World Cup in Russia next year.

If Australia reaches the showpiece tournament, and Cahill scores, he will become just the fourth man in history to net at four successive World Cups.

Postecoglou could do worse than turning to Cahill on Tuesday night.

The evergreen forward has started each of Australia's final qualifying matches for the last three World Cups - against Uruguay in 2005, Qatar in 2009 and Iraq in 2013.

And Cahill has made just one start in competitive matches for the Socceroos in the last 18 months -- against Chile at the Confederations Cup.

But his warrior-like qualities has Postecoglou pondering Cahill's return to the starting side to help shake up the Thais.

"I won't make a decision until tomorrow," Postecoglou said.

"Everyone's recovered really well from the first game which is great. Aaron [Mooy] and Tomi Juric are available now, they're 100 percent. Everyone's fit and available which is a bonus.

"I'll put together an 11 that I think will get the job done ... Timmy is certainly in those thoughts."

^ Back to Top ^