'Timmy time over': Australia 'legend' Cahill announces international retirement

Cahill ends Australia career with 50 goals Suffered frustrating World Cup, appearing as substitute Considered one of country's all-time greats

Tim Cahill scored in three World Cups for Australia and is the country's record goalscorer but has decided to call time on his Socceroos career. EPA

Australia's leading goal scorer Tim Cahill has retired from international football after a frustrating fourth World Cup tournament in Russia.

The 38-year-old midfielder, who has scored 50 international goals in 107 caps, only made a substitute appearance for the Socceroos in their final group game at the World Cup in Russia, which ended in a 2-0 loss to Peru.

"Today's the day that I'm officially hanging up my boots on my international career with the Socceroos," Cahill said on his Twitter account on Tuesday. "No words can describe what it has meant to represent my country.

"Massive thank you to everyone for the support throughout all my years wearing the Australian badge."

Cahill's decision was hardly unexpected given his age and the fact the Socceroos have a new manager in Graham Arnold as they head into the defence of their Asian Cup title next year in the UAE.

He had also struggled to get playing time at club level in the last year, leaving A-league side Melbourne City last December before he signed with English second-tier side Millwall - where he first came to prominence - in January.

The forward played just 10 games for the South London side, mostly from the bench and former Australia manager Bert van Marwijk said that while Cahill's talisman presence would be valuable, he was not guaranteed a spot in his World Cup squad.

"He didn't play a lot and it's important that players have rhythm and play," the Dutchman, who was only appointed for the World Cup campaign, said of Cahill's struggles to get regular playing time.

"But there always are exceptions. He's a player who was very important for the national team in the qualification and in the play-offs."

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Cahill's ability to score goals at crucial times had emphasised his importance to the side throughout his 14-year international career.

As a substitute he scored twice as Australia beat Japan at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, earning the side their first win at the global showpiece.

Most recently with the team struggling after a marathon qualifying campaign he scored twice, the second an injury-time winner, against Syria last year that propelled the Socceroos into the intercontinental play-off with Honduras.

The goals, reminiscent of similar efforts against Qatar and Japan during the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, earned him special praise from then Australia manager Ange Postecoglou.

"Timmy was Timmy, that's why he's the greatest ever," Postecoglou said at the time. "I said when he broke the hundred games he's just a great Australian sportsman, beyond our sport."

Australia went on to beat Honduras 3-1 on aggregate to make their fourth successive World Cup finals.

Cahill spent much of the tournament in Russia on the bench, but did earn his 107th cap when he replaced Tomi Juric in the second half of their 2-0 loss to the Peruvians.

At the end of the game he was photographed tapping his wrist, which Australian media presciently suggested that "Timmy time" was over.

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Cahill, born in Sydney to a Samoan mother, started his international career playing for Western Samoa Under 20s and only became a Socceroo in 2004 after an intense lobbying campaign to world body Fifa.

Two years later in Germany, he became the first Australian to net a goal at the World Cup, going to score in two further tournaments in 2010 and 2014.

In 2007, he also became the first Australian to score at an Asian Cup, and he helped the Socceroos win the Asian title for the first time in 2015.

Before his stint at City, Cahill spent 14 years in England with Millwall and top-flight outfit Everton, scoring more than 100 goals, before signing for the New York Red Bulls.

Cahill, known for his prodigious vertical leap and trademark goal celebration, when he uses the corner flag as a punching bag, also played for China's Shanghai Shenhua and Hangzhou Greentown.