Veteran Cahill leads Australia

Sydney, May 15: Veteran footballer Tim Cahill will lead Australia’s 26-man provisional squad for the World Cup, Football Federation Australia announced on Tuesday. Cahill, a 38-year-old who currently plays for Millwall F.C. in England, is the top scorer of Australia with 50 goals in 105 matches.

The pre-tournament squad will begin its training on May 19 in Antalya, Turkey, and play friendlies against the Czech Republic on June 1 in St. Polten, Austria and Hungary on June 9 in Budapest.

The 26 players were chosen from a 32-member preliminary squad. Coach Bert van Marwijk will announce on June 3 the final list of 23 players who will play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

“Overall, I believe we have named a strong and ambitious squad for our training camp in Turkey and friendly against Czech Republic in Austria,” van Marwijk said in a statement. IANS