Kyah Cahill

Kyah Cahill
Personal information
Full name Kyah Tim Cahill
Date of birth (2003-03-13) 13 March 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth London, England
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2019–2020 Macclesfield Town
2020–2021 Leganés
2021–2022 Rayo Vallecano
2022–2023 Lusail FA
International career‡
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022 Samoa U20 2 (0)
2023– Samoa U23 3 (1)
2024– Samoa 2 (0)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:50, 26 September 2023 (UTC)

Kyah Tim Cahill (born 13 March 2003) is a footballer who last played for the Lusail Football Academy. Born in England, he plays for the Samoa national team.[1]

Club career

Until 2019 Cahill was playing youth football in New Jersey, United States where the family lived while his father played for the New York Red Bulls from 2012 to 2015.[2] He played high school soccer for Northern Highlands Regional High School from 2017 to 2019.[3]

In 2019 he joined the academy of League Two club Macclesfield Town. He was a consistent scorer for the U19 squad and earned at least one Man-of-the-Match honour.[4] He left in 2020 when the club folded because of financial difficulties.[5] Following his departure, he joined the academy of CD Leganés of Spain's Segunda División.[6][7] In March 2021 he joined the academy of fellow Madrid-based club Rayo Vallecano of La Liga.[8]

By 2022 Cahill had joined the Lusail Football Academy in Doha, Qatar.[9]

International career

In August 2022 Cahill was included in Samoa's roster for the 2022 OFC U-19 Championship.[10][11] This was his first international call-up for Samoa.[12] He made his international debut on 14 September 2022, in a 0–4 loss to New Caledonia in the Group stage of the tournament.[13]

Cahill was later called up to the Samoa U23 team for the 2023 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. He scored his team’s game-winning goal in a 3–0 victory over Tonga in the Group Stage.[14] He served as the team’s captain throughout the tournament.[15]

Personal life

Cahill is the son of Socceroos player Tim Cahill and nephew of Samoan former internationals Sean Cahill and Chris Cahill.[12] As a youth his interests were in the performing arts which led him to auditions for Disney and Broadway.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Kyah Cahill opts to play for Samoa". Radio Polynesia Samoa FM. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  2. ^ Davutovic, David. "Rich Seam Runs Into Next Gen". The Herald Sun. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Northern Highlands Boys Soccer". highschoolsports.nj.com. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Cahill's kid Kyah jumps onto League Two stage". SBS Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  5. ^ Davutovic, David. "The kids of our Golden Generation: A new era emerges". Optus sport. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  6. ^ Radbourne-Pugh, Lucas. "SOCCEROO LEGEND CAHILL'S SON SIGNS FOR SPANISH CLUB". ftbl.com.au. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  7. ^ "'So proud': Tim Cahill's son pens Spanish youth deal". Fox Sports. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  8. ^ Jackson, Ed. "Cahill's son joins Spanish club's academy". 7 News. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Lusail Football Academy". Lusail Football Academy. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Top soccer prospect with the famous dad opts for Samoa". RNZ. 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Squads named for OFC U-19 Championship". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Kyah Cahill to follow in dad Tim's footsteps at OFC U-19 Championship". Oceania Football Confederation. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  13. ^ Thomas, Joshua. "Son of Socceroos legend Tim Cahill makes international debut for Samoa as Kyah Cahill looks to follow in father's footsteps". sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Samoa And Solomon Islands Get Off To Winning Start At OFC Men's Olympic Qualifier 2023". Pacific.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  15. ^ Chand, Salveen. "Samoa bows out of Olympic qualifiers". The Samoa Observer. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Tim Cahill's son, 10-year-old aspiring artist Kyah Cahill, sings US national anthem at Red Bull Arena". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 1 September 2022.