Many Australians tuning in for their quadrennial taste of soccer believe the equation is simple: get Tim Cahill on the field.

Yet so far, the Dutch coach of the Socceroos, Bert van Marwijk, has resisted the urge to put Cahill on the field at the World Cup in Russia. Van Marwijk has led a team, his home country, to a World Cup final as recently as eight years ago, but in the eyes of many Australians, his ignoring Australia's greatest goal scorer means the coach has little idea of what he is doing.