As one Socceroos match-winner is shown the exit door, the other - Tim Cahill - has entered stage left promising to help steer his side to the World Cup second stage.

Cahill returns from suspension for the must-win clash with the Serbs in Nelspruit on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).

Sadly, his return from a red card comes as Harry Kewell serves a one-match ban for his send-off in the 1-1 draw with Ghana.

But in a World Cup which may come and go without Australia's two star players being on the field at the one time, Cahill says he's ready to unleash all his pent-up energy on Serbia.

"This whole week I've kept myself really fresh," Cahill said.

"I'm really excited and ready to go. I'm sharp, I've made sure the manager can see I'm edgy to still be in the selection."

Cahill trained well on Sunday with those players who didn't play against Ghana - looking sharp and banging away plenty of goals during the session at their Ruimsig Stadium training base.

His frustration at being sent off against Germany to compound a dismal 4-0 loss looks like having a coiled spring effect on Australia's most productive route to goal.

And he admits he has drawn inspiration from the way the 10-man Socceroos fought their hearts out without him and the sent-off Kewell against Ghana last weekend.

"The effort and commitment they put in that 10-man game was unbelievable," Cahill said.

"We've got to be proud. We've got a great group of lads that worked really hard for each other.

"I can't see many teams at this World Cup going out to have a crack at them the way we did with 10 men - we showed we could do it.

"It shows how good we are, how close we are.

"I feel the togetherness as a team. There's still another opportunity, we've still got one more game."

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