Everton star Tim Cahill has laughed off talk of early retirement.

Speaking with the Sunday Mirror, Cahill dispelled any thoughts of premature retirement.

"Of course, there have been times [I wanted to quit]," he said. "You say things like that, but you have to think about the people you are letting down by stopping playing.

"If there's something coming my way that it's so important, I'd quit football. But it would have to be pretty ­dramatic.

"As long as my family doesn't get affected from it, I'll be playing for a very long time."

The Socceroos could face England in the quarter-­finals, a prospect Cahill can't stop dreaming about.

"I never stop dreaming, mate," he said. "To be honest with you, whether it's England or anyone, my ­biggest dream as a kid was to win the World Cup.

"Australia are not there to make up the numbers; we're there to do the best we can."