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Successfully started the championship the Australian national team, in the first F group match only at the very end of the match they managed to snatch a victory against Japan, which was leading until the 84th minute.
Australia 3 - 1 Japan 26' [0 - 1] Shunsuke Nakamura 84' [1 - 1] Tim Cahill 89' [2 - 1] Tim Cahill 92' [3 - 1] John Aloisi
The game started without dominance, both teams were not settling in the middle of the field, and dangerous attacks were changing one after another. Already in the 1st minute, a penalty kick was awarded about 18 meters from the Australian goal, but Shunsuke Nakamura hit the wall.
In the 6th minute, after two consecutive shots by the Australian leader Mark Viduka, their team was saved by the Japanese goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi. Soon, the athletic advantage of the Australians became apparent - they controlled the ball longer, played attacks on the flanks, and sent the ball into the penalty area. The Japanese were left to counterattack dangerously.
After one of them, Naohiro Takahara made a dangerous long-range shot. A few minutes later, two Australians from the "Parma" club - Vince Grella and Mark Bresciano played a 'wall pass', but the latter's shot was saved by Y.Kawaguchi.
In the middle of the first half, a bizarre own goal was scored in the Australian goal. Shunsuke Nakamura crossed the ball from the right side into the penalty area, where the Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer blocked it into the opponents, and did not reach the ball, which landed behind him and rolled into the goal.
Not even a minute passed when Harry Kewell's powerful long shot missed just a few centimeters above the crossbar, and in the 40th minute, after M.Bresciano's penalty shot, the ball almost spun into the Japanese goal.
At the end of the first half, the Australians, playing with three defenders, calmed down. It is worth noting that they were lucky that the Japanese failed to capitalize on their continuous defensive mistakes.
Although the Australian footballers needed to attack and score, they started playing statically, as if they forgot about dangerous passes from the flanks, unsuccessfully attacking through the middle of the field, where their attacks were successfully 'extinguished' by the Japanese.
When it seemed that everything was heading towards victory for the Asian champions, an unexpected Australian goal turned everything upside down - in the 84th minute, after John Aloisi's shot, Y.Kawaguchi rebounded the ball in front of him, and the Japanese pushed it into the side. The Australians threw the ball directly into the penalty area, there Y.Kawaguchi, as if repaying the debt to M.Schwarzer, touched the ball and in the confusion Tim Cahill took advantage of it, shooting into the empty net.
Soon, another goal was scored - receiving a pass from John Aloisi, Tim Cahill controlled the ball and shot into the goal - the ball hit the post and went into the net - 2-1.
After this goal, the Japanese were completely shaken and taking advantage of it, John Aloisi broke through two defenders and scored the third goal. The match ended like this - an impressive victory for the representatives of the green continent.
