Be careful what you ask Craig Moore. The no-nonsense defender has earned his fair share of respect in a career which has spanned nearly 20 years and is approaching 50 international caps.

So when FourFourTwo questioned the 34-year old defender's pace and fitness in the face of matching up against the world's most deadly strikers in South Africa, Moore quickly took us to task.

"I've got a little bit of information for you," exclaimed an animated Moore. "When I was in Greece recently in the middle of our busy period I went through some physical testing and I was running 20 metres in under three seconds, which is not slow."

He'll certainly need to stay within those pace perameters when taking on the likes of Ghana's speedy 24-year old front-man Asamoah Gyan, while Germany and Serbia have their own wingers who like to break from deep - notably Thomas Muller and Milos Krasic respectively.

"With experience comes better positioning and that does gives you some extra time, but remember that information - 20 metres in under three seconds. 2.91 seconds in fact."

If experience can compensate for diminishing pace, the Socceroos should be okay, with a back-four of Wilkshire, Neill, Moore and Chipperfield boasting over 200 caps.

"When you look at the World Cup and important games, experience is very important. Myself and Lucas are a better defensive partnership now than we were in 2006. Lucas was new to that central defensive role at the time, now he has had another four years in the national team and club playing extremely well in that role."

As for concerns over Moore's fitness - who walked out of Brisbane Roar six months ago after a reported fall-out with coach Ange Postecoglou and ended his spell at Greece club AO Kavala in March after less than three months - that too was strongly rebuffed.

"My move to Greece served its purpose, as I went over to Europe to get some games under my belt that I wouldn't have got in Australia.

I played 15 games in two and a half months over there, this season I have played over 45 games. I have no concern about what I have in my legs, I have played enough football.

"Being a little bit older, it is about getting some rest ahead of going into camp. So I had a little break before the World Cup to ensure I was feeling recharged and raring to go. Pim was supportive of my move back to Australia as he understood both the physical and mental strain of being over there [in Greece]."

Well rested with plenty of games to boot, Moore will be hoping to emulate his impact at Germany 2006, where his performances at the back were capped by a coolly taken spot-kick against Croatia, which often fails to register
as a defining Socceroos moment when compared to Cahill's double against Japan, Kewell's equaliser to send us through to the knock-out stages or Grosso's penalty-winning dive against Italy.

"What was going through my mind at that particular time was, ‘This is an important moment'. We were down 1-0 and needed to get back into the game as quickly as possible. The situation didn't get the best of me, I wasn't nervous. I wanted to make good contact on the ball and hope I was walking after scoring."

After bowing out of Germany, many suspected Moore would be one of the Socceroos unlikely to be back for South Africa. A retirement in 2008 seemed to confirm that, but a return to the international fray just over six months later put a second finals appearance in sight.

"After 2006 I wasn't thinking four years ahead, but no I didn't think I'd be back [in South Africa]. You have these expectations about playing in a World Cup and what it's going to be like, but it was beyond anything I thought it was going to be. The set-up, where we were - it was just an unbelievable time.

"It also helps when you do well and we got through our group stage as that was the first aim, but the way we went out was a huge disappointment. However I still think we didn't ask enough questions of Italy, especially when we had the extra man for 30 minutes."

While making the World Cup squad is an unlikely comeback, can we assume these will be Moore's final appearances for the Socceroos?

"Yeah," he confirmed. "After the World Cup it is time for the younger players who have a big job to do in the next four to eight years rebuilding this team. I won't be there, I'd imagine Scott Chipperfield won't be there, Mark Schwarzer might hang around for the Asian Cup [in January]. Then you have Kewell, Timmy [Cahill], Grella and Bresciano who are all in their 30s. Do they see themselves playing in another World Cup in four years time? If not, there is a lot of work to be done.

"I won't be going back to Europe after the World Cup though. My future lies in Australia and the World Cup is not a shop window for me to earn a contract somewhere else. The chapter I'm in now is an Australian chapter."
Let's hope the final entry to Moore's Socceroos chapter has a fitting ending for the defender in South Africa. 

This article appeared in the July issue of FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.