Australia, led by coach Ange Postecoglou and inspired by its talismanic striker, the ageless Tim Cahill, has the chance to make history at the Olympic venue when it faces the East Asians in the championship decider.

Australia has never won a major soccer tournament in the men's game, and this match, in front of a sellout crowd of mainly home fans, represents the country's best chance to make a statement on soccer's world stage.

Squad revamped

Postecoglou, who left Melbourne Victory to take over the national team barely 15 months ago, has wrought a major transformation of the squad that had performed with so much credit in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, and the 2011 Asian Cup, in which it lost the final in extra time to the now dethroned champions Japan.

The new coach wielded the axe and got rid of a generation of older, more experienced players – including well-known names such as former captain Lucas Neill – and gambled on youth for the rebuild that was necessary if the Socceroos were to retain their position as one of Asia's top teams.

The World Cup, in which the Socceroos won so many fans for their forceful, aggressive performances, was a building block in this process.

For Postecoglou and the FFA, the Asian Cup, which Australia was to host for the first time six months on for Brazil, was always the major prize.

And so it has proved.

While the Socceroos' lead-up form wasn't that impressive, in five games after the World Cup the national team only won once, and then narrowly, against Saudi Arabia in a game staged in London.

But Postecoglou and the team's brains trust counselled patience. These were, after all, friendly matches: important signposts in the team's development, but essentially a forum in which to experiment, mix and match and find the right blend for the tournament that mattered – the Asian Cup.

Postecoglou has done that brilliantly. And while Australia lost to South Korea in the pool games, no one is paying too much attention to that defeat on a hot and steamy night in Brisbane, when the playing surface at Suncorp Stadium left much to be desired.

Australia went out that evening with an experimental side so that the coach could gauge his strength in-depth. Crucially, Cahill was on the bench.

Timmy, as he is universally known these days, will be in from the start tonight. And although the veteran is getting on – he is now 35 – his hunger, passion, commitment and skill have not diminished.

While many others might be raging against the dying of the light at his age, Cahill is determined that the Asian Cup final won't be his swansong in the green and gold.

If he and his team mates have anything to do with it, it will instead be the dawning of a new Socceroo era of success.