Cahill to play for Millwall to help prepare for World Cup

LONDON (AP) Tim Cahill signed a short-term deal with English second-tier club Millwall on Monday in a move designed to help Australia's all-time record scorer prepare for the World Cup in Russia.

The 38-year-old forward returns to a team for whom he scored 57 goals in 251 appearances from 1998-2004. He will stay at Millwall until the end of the English season, which finishes about a month before the World Cup.

''The romance of the story is definitely not lost on me,'' Cahill said. ''I've always said that if I came back to England, I'd come home. Millwall is where I learnt my trade and it was the most important learning period of my life.''

Cahill left Millwall for Everton in 2004, then joined New York Red Bulls in 2012. He went on to have a spell in China before returning to Australia to join Melbourne City in 2016.

With the help of Cahill, Australia qualified for the World Cup by beating Honduras in an intercontinental playoff over two legs in November.