Australian striker Tim Cahill during team training in Vitoria. (AFP)
Australia veteran Tim Cahill told his young, untested teammates to cast aside any lingering pre-World Cup jitters and go out and enjoy the experience of locking horns with Chile in their World Cup opener.
Only by leaving their nerves behind in the dressing room today, the former Everton star believes, will the Socceroos have a shot at claiming what would be one almighty Group B scalp.
“You’ve got to be fearless, that way things happen in games,” his country’s all-time top scorer told a press conference in Vitoria before travelling to Cuiaba for the date with the South Americans.
“In 2006 I scored two goals in the World Cup (against Japan), I was fearless... hopefully it’ll be the same for some of these lads,” he said.
Under new coach Ange Postecoglou Australia have undergone a major rejuvenation, with Cahill one of the last survivors of the Aussies’ “golden generation” including Harry Kewell, Mark Schwarzer and Mark Viduka.
At 34, and winding down his career at the New York Red Bulls, age is not on Cahill’s side, and he is anxious to leave this exalted stage on a high.
“My only message would be to them - don’t miss out on this opportunity, don’t be a passenger, enjoy the game, believe in what we’ve learnt in the last six months, believe in ourselves, in our tactics and the way we play.
“The belief is high, but at the same time our quality is high too.”
Cahill, who went from the highs of Germany in 2006 to the depths of 2010 when he was controversially red carded in the first game, suggested it would be dangerous to regard Chile as a team solely based around world class duo Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez. “We’re focusing on others apart from Vidal and Sanchez, two players don’t make up a team, Chile has a lot of great players.
“But Sanchez, he plays for one of the biggest teams in the world, he’s an exceptional player who loves to come to the ball and get involved in play but at the same time he gets involved in goals.
“I admire him as a footballer, he can win games from the smallest situations.”
Cahill’s great strength is his ability to reach the heights for headed goals, remarkable in that he is just 1.78 metres (5ft 8in) tall.
And given that he took issue then with the perception that a team like Chile presented less of an aerial threat due to their size.
“Vidal, Sanchez, a few of them can jump quite high. I’ve been impressed with the amount of leverage they can get.”
Match stats: Chile vs Australia
Where: The Pantanal arena, Cuiaba, Capacity: 42,968
When: Friday June 13, 18:00 local (2200 GMT/10 PM ET)
Referee: Noumandiez Doue (Ivory Coast)
Probable teams:
Chile: 1-Claudio Bravo; 17-Gary Medel, 18-Gonzalo Jara, 2-Eugenio Mena; 4-Mauricio Isla, 20-Charles Aranguiz, 21-Marcelo Diaz, 16-Felipe Gutierrez; 10-Jorge Valdivia, 7-Alexis Sanchez, 11-Eduardo Vargas
Australia: 1-Mat Ryan; 2-Ivan Franjic, 6-Matthew Spiranovic, 22-Alex Wilkinson, 3-Jason Davidson; 23-Mark Bresciano, 15-Mile Jedinak, 5-Mark Milligan; 11-Tommy Oar, 7-Mathew Leckie, 4-Tim Cahill
Key stats: Chile were second only to winners Argentina in the in the South American qualifying group scoring chart with 29 goals in 16 matches after a fine run-in with five wins and a draw to finish third behind Colombia.
Striker Eduardo Vargas and midfielder Arturo Vidal were joint top scorers for Chile in the qualifiers with five apiece .
Australia rely heavily for goals on veteran Tim Cahill who holds the national record of 32 in 68 appearances.
Previous meetings: The two have played four times with Chile winning three, Australia winning none and one match drawn.
Last meeting: Feb 9 2000, Valparaiso, Chile (friendly four-nation tournament) - Chile 2 Australia 1