Cahill had been on the park just moments when he struck on 75 minutes with his first touch of the ball.

A brilliant cross from Brad Smith was met by the Socceroo superstar who brought up his 48th international goal and kept Australia top of Group B. 

It was a hammer blow for the hosts who were coming off a confidence-boosting away win over Japan.

It was always going to be a tough game played in the mid 30s in front of a raucous and partisan crowd in Abu Dhabi.

Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou made three changes to the side that started in the 2-0 win over Iraq 2-0 in Perth last week.

Matthew Spiranovic, Ryan McGowan and Robbie Kruse came in for injured skipper Mile Jedinak, Milos Degenek and Massimo Luongo.

The win was crucial after Japan got their qualifying campaign back on track with a 2-0 win over Thailand earlier in the night and Saudi Arabia notched up their second win of the phase.

Australia endured a torrid opening and Ismail Al Hammadi's stinging drive on 14' brought out a sharp save from Socceroos custodian Mat Ryan.

The hosts were forced into an early substitution as defender Mohamed Ahmed went off injured on 21 minutes.

By then Postecoglou's men had already settled into the contest and finished the half well on top with 65% of possession and Tom Rogic, Kruse and Spiranovic all with good chances on goal.

The second half was a much more even affair with both sides trading blows at either end.

With neither side finding the breakthrough, Postecoglou went to his bench bringing on Australia's all-time leading goalscorer and Cahill didn't disappoint.

Smith and Mooy overlapped down the left before the Bournemouth man whipped in a curling cross towards Cahill who stabbed it home from close range, breaking UAE hearts and sending Australia one step closer to Russia 2018.