Australia v Japan, 12 June 2006
| Score | 3-1 to Australia |
| Referee | Essam Abd El Fatah |
| Competition | FIFA World Cup Finals group F |
| Venue | Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern |
| Attendance | 46,000 |
View Australia v Japan head to head
Kick-Off: 15:00 Local (14:00 BST)
Assistant referees:
Dramane Danté (Mali)
Mamadou N'Doye (Senegal)
Fourth official:
Éric Poulat (France)
Fifth official:
Vincent Texier (France)
Man of the Match:
Tim Cahill (Australia)
A controversial decision by the referee to allow Shunsuke Nakamura's opening goal as Mark Schwarzer appeared to be fouled.
With the score at 1-1, Japan were denied a definite penalty on 85 minutes after a foul by Tim Cahill in the penalty area.
3
Australia
Manager: Guus Hiddink
Goals:
| Tim Cahill | 84 |
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| Tim Cahill | 89 |
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| John Aloisi | 90 |
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Starting lineup:
Goalkeeper
Mark Schwarzer
Defender
Brett Emerton
Defender
Craig Moore
Defender/Midfielder
Scott Chipperfield
Defender/Midfielder
Lucas Neill
Midfielder
Mark Bresciano
Midfielder
Jason Culina
Midfielder
Vince Grella
Midfielder
Luke Wilkshire
Midfielder/Forward
Harry Kewell
Forward
Mark Viduka
(captain)
Substitutions:
| Tim Cahill for Mark Bresciano | 53 |
| Josh Kennedy for Craig Moore | 61 |
| John Aloisi for Luke Wilkshire | 75 |
Cards:
| Vince Grella | 34 | Y |
| Craig Moore | 57 | Y |
| Tim Cahill | 69 | Y |
| John Aloisi | 77 | Y |
On the bench:
Goalkeeper
Ante Covic
Goalkeeper
Zeljko Kalac
Defender
Michael Beauchamp
Defender/Centre back
Tony Popovic
Defender/Midfielder
Mark Milligan
Midfielder
Stan Lazaridis
Midfielder
Josip Skoko
Midfielder/Forward
Tim Cahill
Forward
John Aloisi
Forward
Josh Kennedy
Forward
Mile Sterjovski
Forward
Archie Thompson
Comments:
This was Australia's opening game in their second World Cup finals. They also took part in the 1974 tournament that was held in West Germany. Not only was this Australia's first win in the World Cup, it was also the first goals they had scored. Remarkably, it is the first time that any team has scored three times in the last six minutes of a World Cup finals game.
1
Japan
Manager: Zico
Goals:
| Shunsuke Nakamura | 26 |
|
Starting lineup:
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
Goalkeeper
Alessandro Santos Alex
Defender
Yūichi Komano
Defender
Yuji Nakazawa
Defender
Keisuke Tsuboi
Defender
Tsuneyasu Miyamoto
Defender/Centre back
(captain)
Takashi Fukunishi
Midfielder
Shunsuke Nakamura
Midfielder
Hidetoshi Nakata
Midfielder
Naohiro Takahara
Forward
Atsushi Yanagisawa
Forward
Substitutions:
| Teruyuki Moniwa for Keisuke Tsuboi | 56 |
| Shinji Ono for Atsushi Yanagisawa | 79 |
| Masashi Oguro for Teruyuki Moniwa | 90 |
Cards:
| Tsuneyasu Miyamoto | 31 | Y |
| Naohiro Takahara | 40 | Y |
| Teruyuki Moniwa | 68 | Y |
On the bench:
Goalkeeper
Yoichi Doi
Goalkeeper
Seigo Narazaki
Defender/Right back
Mitsuo Ogasawara
Defender
Akira Kaji
Defender
Teruyuki Moniwa
Defender
Koji Nakata
Midfielder
Yasuhito Endo
Midfielder
Junichi Inamoto
Midfielder
Shinji Ono
Forward
Seiichiro Maki
Forward
Masashi Oguro
Forward
Keiji Tamada