Cahill full of belief in gaining Cup berth

TIM Cahill has declared he would have retired from international soccer long ago if he didn’t believe Australia could make next year’s World Cup.

And the Socceroos superstar insists that belief has not wavered, nor has his faith in coach Ange Postecoglou’s game plan.

Australia tonight plays Thailand, aware it will not know its World Cup fate until tomorrow morning’s game between Saudi Arabia and Japan is complete.

But Cahill has urged his team to “stay composed” in the face of what shapes as being a strange night all around.

The 37-year-old is himself aiming to qualify for a fourth consecutive World Cup.

Postecoglou has backed his player to get there and likewise Cahill is backing his coach to lead the way.

“I wouldn’t be around if I didn’t think we could qualify for the World Cup,” Cahill said. “And on top of that, I wouldn’t be around if I didn’t believe in the vision of what Ange says we can do at a World Cup.”

The Melbourne City star is tipped to start on his home patch tonight after coming on as a second-half substitute in the 2-0 loss to Japan last week.

But despite knowing they will not get that magic “we’re going to Russia” moment on the field tonight, Cahill said the Socceroos were not getting too wrapped up in the possible post-match scenarios.

“It’s a group of players that basically the only thing that matters to us is winning and making sure that we play great football,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of noise from the outside and as much as we try to protect our players, we just have to worry about [the game].

“We really just have to stay composed and basically go out there and do what we’ve normally been doing.”