Tim Cahill issues clarion call to Socceroos teammates ahead of World Cup playoff
IT’S the simplest message yet the most important. These are the words Tim Cahill will relay to his Socceroos teammates before the World Cup playoff against Honduras tonight.
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“IT’S there if we really want to take it.”
It’s the simplest message yet the most important, the words Tim Cahill will relay to his teammates. Time and again the Socceroos leading goalscorer has seized the moment; on Wednesday against Honduras he wants every one of the Socceroos to do the same.
In 2006 Cahill made history as the first Australian to score at a World Cup, and he hasn’t stopped since. For players like Trent Sainsbury and Robbie Kruse, rubbed out of the last World Cup through injury, the chance to follow in his footsteps is tantalisingly close.
“This is going to be massive for our country,” Cahill said. “It’s 90 minutes of football, to create more history for our country.
“That’s got to be their motivation, for them and the next group of lads coming through. They’ve got to understand how big it is.
“That’s the biggest thing of having Mile (Jedinak) in camp and now Millsy (Mark Milligan) back, we can drive in-house messages to the lads about preparation.
“Little things that make a difference to the night. The most telling thing on Wednesday night will be composure.
“We’re ready, I like what I see. It feels like this is our time. On the night it will come down to someone taking their chance, the defining moment that separates men from boys.”
At 0-0 the tie is poised after the first leg, yet Cahill believes things are falling into place for the home side.
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“If we really just get into gear and give everything for this one game and click, it should be really positive,” he said.
“I feel that’s the biggest that I like, what I see at the moment. Everything seems to be going really fluently.
“Clean sheet away from home, disciplined, resilient, compact; (Honduras) didn’t really have too many chances compared to how many we had.
“On a nice playing pitch and us really well drilled, it’s there if we really want to take it. That’s why I think it will be an awesome night if we can click.
“One thing we’ll be doing is to take the nerves away from as many players as possible so they’re prepared, not overawed by the occasion.”
THE (LONG) ROAD TO RUSSIA
- The Socceroos' path to the 2018 World Cup
- Game 1. June 2015
- def Kyrgyzstan 2-1, Bishkek (Jedinak 2, Oar 68)
- 2. September 2015
- def Bangladesh 5-0, Perth (Leckie 6, Rogic 8, 20, Burns 29, Mooy 61)
- 3. September 2015
- def Tajikistan 3-0, Dushanbe (Milligan 57, Cahill 73, 90+1)
- 4. October 2015
- lost to Jordan 2-0, Amman
- 5. November 2015
- def Kyrgyzstan 3-0, Canberra (Jedinak 40, Cahill 50, Amirov O.G 69)
- 6. November 2015
- def Bangladesh 4-0, Dhaka (Cahill 6, 32, 37, Jedinak 43)
- 7. March 2016
- def Tajikistan 7-0, Adelaide (Luongo 3, Jedinak 13, Milligan 57, Burns 67, 87, Rogic 70, 72)
- 8. March 2016
- def Jordan 5-1, Sydney (Cahill 24, 44, Mooy 39, Rogic 53, Luongo 69)
- 9. September 2016
- def Iraq 2-0, Perth (Luongo 58, Juric 64)
- 10. September 2016
- def UAE 1-0, Abu Dhabi (Cahill 75)
- 11. October 2016
- drew with Saudi Arabia 2-2, Jeddah (Sainsbury 45, Juric 71)
- 12. October 2016
- drew with Japan 1-1, Melbourne (Jedinak 52)
- 13. November 2016
- drew with Thailand 2-2, Bangkok (Jedinak 9, 65)
- 14. March 2017
- drew with Iraq 1-1, Tehran (Leckie 40)
- 15. March 2017
- def UAE 2-0, Sydney (Irvine 7, Leckie 78)
- 16. June 2017
- def Saudi Arabia 3-2, Adelaide (Juric 7, 36, Rogic 64)
- 17. August 2017
- lost to Japan 2-0, Saitama
- 18. September 2017
- def Thailand 2-1, Melbourne (Juric 69, Leckie 86)
- 19. October 2017
- drew with Syria 1-1, Melaka (Kruse 40)
- 20. October 2017
- def Syria 2-1 (A. E. T), Sydney (Cahill 13, 109)
- 21. November 2017
- drew 0-0 with Honduras, San Pedro Sula
- 22. Wednesday night
- v Honduras, Sydney
Originally published as Tim Cahill issues clarion call to Socceroos teammates ahead of World Cup playoff
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