Cahill, 37, and Jedinak, 33, are no strangers to the biggest sporting show on Earth. 

The Socceroos’ all-time leading scorer has been to – and scored at – the last three. Australia’s skipper was at the last two.

But they want the chance to play alongside the likes of Trent Sainsbury, Robbie Kruse, Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic in Russia.

Cahill hopes those yet to reach the tournament are driven to play with them, and fellow three-tournament veteran Mark Milligan.

“That’s got to be their motivation, for them and the next group of lads coming through,” he said.

“They’ve got to understand how big it is.

“Having Mile in camp and now Millsy back, we can drive in-house messages to the lads about preparation.

“Those little things that make a difference on the night.

“The most telling thing on Wednesday night will be composure.”

Kruse and Sainsbury missed out on the 2014 tournament in Brazil through injury. Rogic couldn’t break out of his own injury run to make a case for selection, while Aaron Mooy was yet to show the form that would take him to the English Premier League.

Others, like Tomi Juric, Aziz Behich and Jackson Irvine are looking to make their debut on the world stage.

Jedinak said the chance to represent Australia in front of the world has been present through the marathon 22-match, 29-month qualifying campaign.

“This whole campaign, we’ve touched on what it means,” he said.

“It was instilled in us a long long time ago.

“We talked about the impact we wanted to make and what we wanted to do and achieve and the importance of that by everyone in our squad.

“It’s now making sure we’re tuned in and we’re 100 per cent prepared to execute what we want to do on that pitch.”

Of that, Cahill is confident.

“We’re ready. I like what I see,” he said.

“I’m buzzing with a group of players. It feels like this is our time.

“On the night it will come down to someone taking their chance, the defining moment that separates men from boys.”

-AAP