47 days to go: Craig Moore's FIFA World Cup story

It's now less than 50 days until the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and as part of our countdown to Russia, we are profiling every Australian player who has been to football's biggest tournament.

The next member on the list is defensive stalwart Craig Moore, an international for 15 years and member of two FIFA World Cup squads.

READ: FIFA World Cup: Countdown for the Caltex Socceroos

Cap number: 409

World Cups played at: 2006, 2010

Position: Defender

Age at World Cup: 30 in 2006, 34 in 2010

Clubs played for:

Rangers, Crystal Palace, Borussia Monchengladbach, Newcastle United, Brisbane Roar, Kavala

Best World Cup moment:

Having endured the heartbreaking qualification defeats of 1997 and 2001, Moore was a thoroughly deserving member of the 23 players selected for Germany 2006.

His crowning moment came in the final group match against Croatia in Stuttgart.

Moore held his nerve to convert a 38th-minute penalty that cancelled out Dario Srna's early opener as Australia ultimately secured a 2-2 draw, sealing a place in the knockout rounds.

He remains the third of six men to score for the country at football's pinnacle event.

The long-time Caltex Socceroos servant backed up his 2006 exploits with a further two appearances in 2010, taking his total number of FIFA World Cup matches to six.

Craig Moore Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell
Moore's penalty against Croatia was his third and final international goal.

Career highlight:

Moore captained his country at both the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

He was just as decorated at club level.

A tough-tackling centre-back, Moore won five league titles, four Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups across two stints with Rangers, completing the treble in 2002-03.

Post-playing career:

Moore worked as a mentor to overseas Australian players before taking on an advisory and ambassadorial role with the Caltex Socceroos, forming part of Ange Postecoglou's backroom staff in 2014.

He later became the football operations manager at former club Brisbane Roar and is now a player agent.

He was inducted into the FFA Hall of Fame in 2011.

Did you know?

Kevin Muscat once revealed that his good mate Moore was offered a contract by Arsenal following the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship, but he opted for Rangers due to the greater first-team opportunities.