Tim Cahill has the chance to become only the fourth player to score at four World Cups

In Kazan on Saturday afternoon, one man may get the opportunity to write his very own piece of World Cup history.

Not one of France's big name, big money superstars, but a 38-year-old Australian who could, quite feasibly, hang up his boots for good in just a couple of weeks.

Tim Cahill has scored at each of his three World Cup appearances - 2006, 2010 and 2014 - and another goal in Russia would catapult him into an exclusive club.

Only three players - legendary Brazil striker Pele, West Germany's prolific Uwe Seeler and the competition's record scorer, Miroslav Klose - have scored at four finals. Cahill has his sights set on joining them.

He does, however, face more of a challenge than ever before to find the back of the net at this summer's showpiece. Once his country's talisman, Cahill is likely to play the role of impact substitute this time around.

The reasons for that are twofold. With his 39th birthday less than six months away, the former Everton favourite is, understandably, not the same player who shone in the Premier League for eight years.

He retains many of the attributes which made him such a hit in England, firstly as a youngster at Millwall, then during his lengthy stint on the blue half of Merseyside. His movement, fight and ability to outjump defenders - despite being less than 6ft tall - and score with his head are almost undiminished, but he lacks the running power and energy of his best days.

The second reason lies in his last year at club level. He has only 160 minutes of league football under his belt from the 2017-18 season, firstly at Melbourne City and most recently at Millwall. He also failed to score for either side.

Cahill's emotional return to The Den last January - his home for seven years before a £1.5million switch to Everton - was met with widespread approval from the supporters who had once idolised him, particularly during the club's unlikely run to the 2004 FA Cup final against Manchester United.

But on the pitch at least, the plucky attacking midfielder failed to live up to expectations. Manager Neil Harris using him sparingly during a late, but ultimately unsuccessful, push for the play-offs and he missed the last two games of the season after being banned for an elbow on Fulham's Ryan Fredericks.

In total he made 10 appearances off the bench. Fans and team-mates agree that his arrival helped galvanise Harris' hardworking squad and improve an already strong team spirit, but that alone is not enough to base World Cup inclusion on.

For a player with such limited playing to make Australia's final 23-man squad appeared a little odd on paper, even when you consider Cahill's reputation as both a leader in the dressing room and man for the big occasion.

It was a viewed shared by some Down Under, particularly after Cahill's image was used as part of a commercial partnership with the Socceroos' main sponsors, Caltex, before manager Bert van Marwijk had named his travelling party.

The ex-New York Red Bulls star's face has been plastered across five of the company's petrol stations, which have also been rebranded 'Cahilltex' until at least the end of June. That led to accusations that the veteran's place in Russia was already assured, despite his disappointing recent form.

Football Federation Australia chief executive, David Gallop, strenuously denied that Van Markwijk had been told to include Cahill. 'Absolutely not,' he said at Sydney's North Ryde Caltex station, following its Cahill makeover.

'Have a look at Tim Cahill's track record. He's a guy who has produced for the Socceroos and Australia so many times. He's going to Turkey (for the training camp), he's got a few weeks of intense training and he'll be right up there [for final selection].'

Those fond of a conspiracy theory may doubt Gallop's words, but he makes a compelling point. Fifty goals in 105 caps - combined with a history of impressive displays on the grandest stage - suggest Cahill does indeed deserve a chance to prove he can still deliver when it counts, even if he will be Plan B this time around.

That was a role he relished in the Aussies' first World Cup game in 32 years when he emerged from the bench to inspire a dramatic comeback victory over Japan with two late goals in 2006. His first, an instinctive low finish from 10 yards, was the Socceroos' first ever goal in the competition. His second sealed their first ever win.

Four years later, Cahill's tournament got off to the worst possible start when he was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger during a 4-0 thrashing by Germany. He missed the 1-1 draw with Ghana but returned with a goal in a 2-1 victory over Serbia as Pim Verbeek's side just missed out on a place in the last 16.

And despite three group stage defeats in 2014, the former Shanghai Shenhua man made his mark with one of the great World Cup goals, a stunning, left-footed volley off the underside of the bar against Holland. He had also grabbed a consolation against Chile five days earlier.

In total, Cahill has five goals - the same amount as Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane and Raul - in just eight World Cup appearances. He is Australia's top scorer in the competition and, quite simply, their all-time top scorer. It's little wonder his experience and knack of popping up with important goals - as he did in the play-off win against Syria to seal a spot in Russia - appealed to Van Marwijk.

However, there are others in front of him in the pecking order. In last week's 2-1 win over Hungary, Urawa Reds' Andrew Nabbout started up front, with Celtic star Tom Rogic in an advanced midfield role. The fit-again Tomi Juric and Jamie Maclaren, who enjoyed a productive loan spell in Scotland with Hibernian last season, are also amongst Australia's attacking options this time around.

Cahill came off the bench for just 10 minutes in that friendly, but, being the confident character he has always been, he will still fancy his chances of making an impact in what could well turn out to be the swansong of a career which has seen him score 218 goals in 800 appearances for clubs and country over two decades.

Released by Millwall last month and yet to sign a deal elsewhere, Cahill is likely to have at least contemplated bowing out once and for all when Australia's time in Russia comes to an end.

If that turns out to be the case, witnessing his trademark corner flag boxing celebration one last time would certainly be a fitting finale.