The Millwall midfielder will join the Qantas Socceroo squad in Dublin and participate in all team training activities, but will not be part of the official squad. Even so, the news will be welcomed by Cahill and his supporters after he fought a lengthy legal battle with FIFA for the right to represent his native country.
Until recently, Cahill was officially blacklisted by FIFA after representing Samoa at Under 20 level at the age of 14. Ironically, one of his major backers during his court case was the FAI, who were interested in selecting Cahill as part of their World Cup squad last summer after it was discovered that the youngster was qualified to play for the Republic through his father, who was born in Eire.