WHEN the Socceroos ran out for their World Cup qualifier against Oman last Friday, they boasted an average age of 31 years and 112 days. It was the fourth-oldest Australian team ever.

To say they are among the planet's more battle-hardened teams is an understatement, for they have remained together through a Confederations Cup, back-to-back World Cup and Asian Cup qualifications and tournaments. Now they want to stick it out for one last hurrah.

Ready to bloom ... Shinji Kagawa. Credit:Kaz Photography

Compare that with tonight's opponents, Japan. The average age of the Japanese side that hammered Jordan 6-0 last week was 26, and featured just two players over 30 - the evergreen Yasuhito Endo, 32, and late-blooming Ryoichi Maeda, 30.

Tough decisions are being made by our northern neighbours, where sentiment holds diminishing sway. Veteran servants such as Yoshito Okubo, Daisuke Matsui, Yuki Abe and Marcus Tulio Tanaka have all gone past 30 in the past year or two and, despite boasting 181 caps between them, look set never to return.