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Australia legend Tim Cahill has joined the country’s official 2022 World Cup staff as Head of Delegation.
The former attacking midfielder will support the Socceroos both on and off the pitch in Qatar.
Cahill made 108 appearances for Australia across a 14-year period, second only to goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer in the all-time list.
He is, however, his country’s leading goalscorer with 50 goals. Moreover, he was the first Australian to score at a World Cup, and has scored the most goals by any Australian in the competition with five.
Cahill represented his country in four World Cups, scoring in three of them. One such goal, a volley against the Netherlands in 2014, has gone down as one of the greatest goals in World Cup history.
Cahill’s experience a “huge asset” for Australia
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The Socceroos have a very tough task ahead of them in Group D. They take on reigning champions France in their opener on November 22.
Australia then play Tunisia and Denmark on November 26 and 30 respectively.
Football Australia Chief Executive Officer James Johnson noted his delight at the appointment, saying that Cahill’s experience can be very helpful for Australia in Qatar.
“We are delighted to have someone of Tim’s calibre and profile working so closely with Graham [Arnold] and the team,” said Johnson.
“He is one of our all-time greatest players and his knowledge and experience will be a huge asset during this tournament.”
Cahill excited to welcome Socceroos to Qatar
Along with his superb international career, Cahill enjoyed a stellar club career. His time in England began and ended with Millwall, but it was his spell with Everton where he enjoyed the most success.
The Australian played over 200 times for the Toffees, scoring 68 goals and becoming an Everton legend in the process.
He has been involved in various projects since retiring from football, most recently working in Qatar for the past three years as Chief Sports Officer of the Aspire Academy.
“The Aspire Academy is recognised as one of the world’s leading sports academies and I am thrilled that we have been able to secure these facilities for our national team during this tournament,” said Cahill.
“I am honoured to be asked to fulfil the role of Head of Delegation at this tournament.
“I hope to share my knowledge and experiences from four previous FIFA World Cups with our team and staff to give us the best opportunity of progressing through the group stage for the first time since 2006.”
Australia hoping for change of fortunes
As mentioned by Cahill, Australia last progressed through the World Cup group stages in 2006. That year, they reached the Round of 16 after finishing second in a group alongside Brazil, Croatia and Japan.
But Italy stood in their way in the following round, with the footballing heavyweights defeating Australia 1-0 before going on to lift the famous trophy.
In the three World Cups since then, the Socceroos have failed to make it out of the groups. They failed to win a match in the last two tournaments, and finished third, fourth and fourth in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions respectively.
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