Tim Cahill has become the first outfield player to reach 100 international caps for the Caltex Socceroos after playing against Chile at the FIFA Confederations Cup on Monday (AEST).
Cahill started and captained Australia in their final group match in Moscow, with Ange Postecoglou’s side fighting out a 1-1 draw with the world’s fourth-ranked nation Chile.
He played 56 minutes – picking up a yellow card in the first half for a crunching tackle - before being replaced by Mathew Leckie.
The 37-year-old is just the second player to reach triple figures in caps behind goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer (109).
Lucas Neill (96) and Brett Emerton (95) are the only other players to reach more than 90 caps, while current Caltex Socceroos skipper Mile Jedinak rounds out the top 10 with 71, the next best of the current crop still playing.
The Melbourne City star’s ton comes 13 years after his international debut against South Africa in a friendly in 2004.
Since then he has gone on to score 48 goals to be the country’s greatest-ever goalscorer.
Cahill famously scored Australia’s first-ever goals at a FIFA World Cup in the 3-1 win over Japan in 2006, helping the Caltex Socceroos reach the last 16.
Ange hails Cahill ahead of 100th cap
He is one of a handful of players to score at three separate World Cup tournaments, after his goal against Serbia in 2010 as well as strikes against Chile and the Netherlands in Brazil in 2014.
Cahill’s stunning volley against the Netherlands will go down as one of the greatest goals ever scored at a FIFA World Cup.
With Australia’s FIFA Confederations Cup campaign now over, Cahill and the team’s next focus will be qualifying for the World Cup in Russia next year.
The Caltex Socceroos’ next match is away in Japan on August 31, followed by the final match of qualifying back home against Thailand on September 5.
