Live Ticker: Australia 3 : 1 Japan

Line-ups.
Australia: 1-Mark Schwarzer; 7-Brett Emerton, 2-Lucas Neill, 3-Craig Moore, 14-Scott Chipperfield; 13-Vince Grella, 20-Luke Wilkshire, 5-Jason Culina, 10-Harry Kewell; 9-Mark Viduka (c), 23-Marco Bresciano

Coach: Guus Hiddink

Japan: 23-Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi; 19-Keisuke Tsuboi, 5-Tsuneyasu Miyamoto (c), 22-Yuji Nakazawa; 3-Yuichi Komano, 7-Hidetoshi Nakata, 10-Shunsuke Nakamura, 15-Takashi Fukunishi, 14-Alex; 9-Naohiro Takahara, 13-Atsushi Yanagisawa

Coach: Zico Referee: Esam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)

The teams are waiting to enter the pitch in Kaiserslautern. It is a hot and sunny day. The audience is already singing.

The teams are on the pitch. Time for the anthems.

An inflatable kangaroo is raised high in the stands.

Australia win the toss.

1. min.
Japan kick-off.

1. min.
Free-kick Japan.
Just outside the penalty box.

2. min.
The ball flies high
as Australia try to go into Japan's half the ball is headed around without direction.

3. min.
Wilkshire brings down Alex who after a fast free-kick advances down but his cross is too low.

6. min.
Viduka double chance
Viduka comes in from the left and gets two shots on goal. Great saves by Kawaguchi.

8. min.
Aussies find their pace
The Australians break the Japanese at midfield and counterattack. It seems the Japanese are searching for their game.

10. min.
Corner for Japan

11. min.
Viduka down in the box, correctly no penalty kick

13. min.
Struggling Japanese
The Aussies have parked themselves around the box and the Japanese have problems keeping them out. Again they have to put their faith in the goalie.

16. min.
Long ball to Alex is too long.

16. min.
Japan win a free-kick on own half

17. min.
Free-kick Kewell 40 m from goal.

19. min.
Aussies stay outside the Japanese 16-meter line.

20. min.
The Down Unders are being helped by the nervous play shown by the Japanese

21. min.
Just outside
Takahara runs along the box and fires off a right foot that hits the water bottles a meter outside of the Australian goal.

24. min.
Bresciano gets a shot on goal
He is put free by a heel kick from Viduka just outside the box. Kawaguchi saves again.

26. min.
GOAL JAPAN

26. min.
Nakamura
The Japanese hits a cross from the right over Schwarzer in the Australian goal. A surprise to everyone.

29. min.
Nippon Nippon
The blue and white crowd sings, celebrating the goal, as the Aussies try to come out of their shock.

32. min.
The Japanese have gotten more of the ball after scoring but still have trouble finding their way into the box.

33. min.
Yanagisawa shoots
but it goes on the left of Schwarzer.

35. min.
Yanagisawa lies in the Aussie box
but comes back on his feet.

37. min.
Aussies losing pace
After the Japanese lead, the Australians have been trying to keep in attack mode but there is no question that their first wave from the opening 20 minutes has lost in power.

40. min.
Free-kick for Australia about 10 meters from the box

41. min.
Close
Bresciano's free-kick is so close some of the crowd think the ball is in.

42. min.
The tempo is going down as both teams are finding it hard to find ways through each others defense lines.

45+1. min.
Nakamura tries his way into the left of the box but it ends in nothing

45+2. min.
First half is over.
The referee blows the whistle.

The Aussies started off at high pace and also managed to break the Japanese line on several occasions but without getting the really good chances, apart from the Viduka double chance in the sixth min. Generally speaking the game has not been the most beautiful as both teams have suffered many false passes and have been finding it hard to come to the conclusive point, often getting stuck in the others' defense. Japan lead with one up more by coincidence.

The teams go back on the pitch.

45. min.
The Aussies kick off the second half.

47. min.
The Japanese seem to try to put pressure higher up in the field.

48. min.
Tsuboi breaks off an attempt by the Aussies

49. min.
There's a lot of open field for the Australians on the left but they're too slow to take advantage.

50. min.
Viduka off-side

51. min.
Great cross from the left reaches Komano
who gets it down to the goal line where he crosses in to the box, but the ball is kicked out by a defender.

52. min.
Bresciano leaves the pitch for Cahill

53. min.
Tsuboi is limping
and sits down. Some of the crowd is whistling.

55. min.
Moniwa takes over for the injured Tsuboi

57. min.
Culina sees yellow for obstructing

58. min.
Schwarzer heads away the ball outside his box
and Nakamura gets a chance to puncture the match but his shot goes wide.

60. min.
Time for Joshua Kennedy as Moore leaves the pitch with head down.

61. min.
A long throw-in by the Aussies reaches the box where it pinballs for a while before it is kicked out by a Japanese foot.

62. min.
Cross by Komano but it is too long

63. min.
The Australians try to reach the tall Kennedy with high balls but the Japanese defense is there.

65. min.
The Japanese are playing for the result hoping to get a decisive counterattack.

67. min.
First corner of second half
is Australian but ends in nothing.

68. min.
Free-kick Australia on the 16 meter line.
Viduka fires a rocket along the grass that is saved one-handedly by Kawaguchi.

75. min.
Sub Australia.
Aloisi goes on for Wilkshire to get a stronger offensive together.

77. min.
Aloisi sees yellow after two minutes on the pitch.

78. min.
Ono makes his World Cup 2006 debut when Yanagisawa leaves the pitch

80. min.
Cross reaches Kennedy
but the Australian doesn't get high enough and the ball goes over the crossbar.

82. min.
Free-kick for Kennedy.
Ten meters from the box. Good save by Kawaguchi.

84. min.
GOAL Australia

84. min.
Cahill scores after long throw-in.
Komano falls on the penalty spot and Cahill fires away past Kawaguchi and past the last defender on the goal line.

88. min.
Fukunishi shoots
from far but it's wide.

89. min.
GOAL Australia 2-1

89. min.
Again Cahill.
A fantastic shot from Cahill after great work by Aloisi outside the box. Cahill shoots from 16 meter and the ball bounces from the left post and in the net.

90+2. min.
GOAL AUSTRALIA

90+2. min.
Aloisi cuts his way past two defenders
and shoots from just within the box. Kawaguchi has no chance. You have to feel bad for the Japanese keeper who did some great saves earlier in the game.

Australia win a fast and partly chaotic game after Japan takes the lead in first half. The Japanese though were too passive in the second half to manage to defend their goal from being hit.