Cahill in Socceroos squad for Asian World Cup qualifiers
SYDNEY (AP) — Ange Postecoglou has retained Tim Cahill in Australia's 23-man squad for a pair of Asian World Cup qualifiers, relying on the 37-year-old veteran to cover a lack of depth in the Socceroos' front third.
The former Everton and New York Red Bulls attacker is one of six A-League players included in the squad for the qualifiers against Iraq next Thursday in Tehran, Iran, and against the United Arab Emirates the following week in Sydney. Cahill has 94 caps and has scored 48 goals for Australia
Australia is third in Group B after five games with nine points, one behind joint leaders Saudi Arabia and Japan. The top two teams in each of the two Asian qualifying groups advance automatically to the World Cup in Russia and the two third-place teams go into a series of playoffs.
"We face two important games in five days and ... I'm confident the group we've selected will be ready to hit the ground running," Postecoglou said.
The squad will start assembling in Tehran on Sunday.
Squad: Mustafa Amini, Aziz Behich, Tim Cahill, Milos Degenek, Rhyan Grant, Jackson Irvine, Mile Jedinak, James Jeggo, Tomi Juric, Robbie Kruse, Mitch Langerak, Mathew Leckie, Massimo Luongo, Riley McGree, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Mathew Ryan, Trent Sainsbury, Brad Smith, James Troisi, Danny Vukovic, Rhys Williams, Bailey Wright.
