The four key men to shape Socceroos' 2018 campaign

Australia kicks off its bid to reach the FIFA World Cup finals for a fourth straight time with an obsessive determination to make the qualifying campaign a means to an end and four men hold the key to the Socceroos' aspirations.

Key Socceroos members (from left) Mile Jedinak, Tim Cahill, Mat Ryan and Massimo Luongo. (Getty) Source: Getty Images

Making it to Russia 2018 and once again being among the game's big boys are simply not enough anymore for the Socceroos and their avant-garde coach Ange Postecoglou.

Australia needs to make the world sit up and take notice, he says, when as expected the champion of Asia joins the finest teams on the planet in three years.

The Socceroos team comprises a balanced group of players that defied criticism and scepticism emanating from a poor lead-up to carry off the AFC Asian Cup amid national acclaim.

Yet there is no doubt that four players hold the key to Australia's chances of surviving the pitfalls of Asian qualifying in some of the world's most remote destinations.

Australia's first qualifying match in Group B is against Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek on Tuesday at midnight (AEST).

Jordan, Tajikistan and Bangladesh come next.

The four key men are Mat Ryan, Mile Jedinak, Massimo Luongo and Tim Cahill.

Mat Ryan (FC Brugge, 20 caps): The Socceroos goalkeeper has established himself as Postecoglou's No 1. The former Central Coast star has taken his game to a new level since joining FC Brugge in Belgium two years ago. What drives ambitious Ryan is his fierce determination to excel at what he does.

He was critical of his form in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil although he did not need to be but by the time the Asian Cup came around six months later he had become a steadying influence on Australia's defence. He has been voted best goalkeeper in Belgium the past two seasons. Clearly the Socceroos team is in good hands in the goalkeeper stakes.

Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace, 58 caps): The uncompromising defensive midfielder was made Socceroos' captain before the World Cup in Brazil and is relishing the responsibility. He is, after all, the skipper of Premier League club Crystal Palace and knows all about leading a team by example.

Jedinak's presence on the field is such that he often brings the best out of the players around him who also know that he will more than likely cover for any error they might make. Apart from his remarkable defensive skills he also packs a decent shot. Postecoglou knows he will never find a better right-hand man on the pitch. That's why he picked him as captain.

Massimo Luongo (Queens Park Rangers, 12 caps): The way the gifted midfielder took to international football as a raw rookie raised many eyebrows. Luongo was not even sure if he would play in the Asian Cup as basically an untried 22 year-old from League One Swindon Town.

Yet Luongo took his chance with an eye-catching display in Australia's first game against Kuwait and never looked back, eventually being named man of the tournament. Luongo has people around him who know what's best for his career and he could make the 'No 10' role his own if he avoids major injuries. He won't face Kyrgyzstan due to an ankle injury.

Tim Cahill (Shanghai Shenhua, 82 caps): What more can one say about a true superstar who has carried the Socceroos for so many years? Cahill's 39 goals in 82 international matches have become the stuff of legend.

Australia's all-time leading scorer has scored all sorts of goals, from easy tap-ins to absolute screamers, yet his greatest asset is the confidence he brings to his own team whenever he plays and the fear he instills among the opposition, particularly those from Asia. Cahill will again be a marked man in the qualifying campaign but this will not worry him one bit. Cahill is one who thrives on a challenge.

Postecoglou is building a pretty decent outfit replete with enthusiastic players who are keen to emulate the so-called golden generation that made sports-mad Australia so proud of its football team in 2006.

There is no doubt however that Ryan, Jedinak, Luongo and Cahill form the central backbone of the team and their form in the coming months will go a long way towards giving the Socceroos a World Cup ticket.

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