Football
ESPN staff 8y

Tim Cahill will start for Socceroos in Bangladesh - coach Postecoglou

Asian champions Australia will need to reshuffle their starting side for Tuesday night's AFC 2018 World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh in Dhaka, but veteran forward Tim Cahill is predicted to make his second consecutive start.

According to Socceroos' head coach Ange Postecoglou, Cahill has recovered well after facing up to Kyrgyzstan last Thursday and is likely to lead the line to earn his 88th cap.

But fellow attackers Tom Rogic, Tomi Juric and Mathew Leckie will be missing with injuries or illness.

Nathan Burns, James Troisi and Tommy Oar are expected to be handed starting spots for the Group B clash against the winless Bangladeshis. Burns and Troisi came off the bench against Kyrgyzstan while Oar was an unused substitute.

Cahill, who turns 36 next month, took his record Socceroos' goal tally to 42 with his team's second in the 3-0 win in Canberra.

"He [Cahill] was pretty disappointed not to bag a few more. He got into good areas and was unlucky a few times... but he scored again," Postecoglou told Football Federation Australia.

"It's just great to see at this stage of his career he's still going strong, still got great energy and unbelievable appetite for the game to make every post a winner.

"He's backed up well and I know he's looking forward to tomorrow night."

The Socceroos defeated Bangladesh 5-0 in Perth in September and are expected to be too strong for the 180th ranked side at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The match will only go ahead after "unprecedented' safety measures, with sniffer dogs and bomb disposal units deployed at the stadium after security concerns were raised with the Asian Football Confederation.

Experienced winger Robbie Kruse is also missing from the Australian squad but Postecoglou was flippant when asked if he was concerned about a lack of depth in the front third.

"Not really," he said. "It's not too much different to the last game.

"Jimmy Troisi only played about 20 minutes [against Kyrgyzstan] so he's good to go, Tommy Oar didn't play so he's fresh.

"I think we're quite comfortable in those areas."

The 2015 Asian Cup winners are second in Group B, one point behind Jordan. The Jordanians face third placed Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on Tuesday night.

^ Back to Top ^