Australia 3
Japan 2

Mark my words!

i hope this will be one hell of a match. i predict
japan 2- australia 1

Should be an interesting game to watch. My prediction: 2-2

Australia 2
Japan 2

I predict an exciting draw.

Japan 1 – 1 Australia I think is most likely, if not then I fancy Japan to steal it with a second goal.

anyone know where we can watch this game on the net? look forward to this one!
would love Australia to win but has to be Japan!

James,

Go here.

http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/

Apparently Kewell is starting and Cahill’s on the bench!

Kewell okay, even with a dodgy groin, but why, why, why Wilkshire?

Yeah. I’m still trusting Guus for now. Hell of a bench you’ve gotta admit. Cahill, Aloisi, Kennedy, Skoko and Thompson.

I guess he’ll probably swap Kewell for Cahill halfway through, if Harry appears tired.

4 : 1 for Australia

Japan: 2 x 0

So it begins…

It’s pretty sunny.

Australia with a kit that’s more likely to be from Brazil than Brazil’s original kit.

Don’t worry Bresciano and Nakata played together in Italy. No hard feelings!

Settle down boys…

I say Australia 3-0

Here we go, a little late perhaps. Weather looks beautiful and my beloved Japanese look questionable on defense.

My prediction? Japan 2 -1.

But my salute to the socceroos and their fans – good luck!

2:1 Australia

Alex moved to Japan when he was at high school, 15 or 16 I believe. He’s called Alex but his name is Alessandro, which is a pretty usual name in Brazil.

Great goal-keeping by Japan! Australian attack looks good early.

Yes, Australia’s look strong.

The Shadow on Japan’s goal box is looking annoying…

my prediction…PAIN!

That Viduka guy is big. Big or fat ? He’s the Australian Ronaldo :D

Just big-boned! :)

Finally a set piece attack from Japan. Japan corner now.

Most of brazilians are supporting Japan because of Zico.

It’s the second team of most people.

Australia vs Japan

Date Played: June 12, 2006 (Group Stage)

Australia: 0 Japan: 0

Liveblogging: The FIFA World Cup is now Live. Boom…

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Technorati Tags: FIFA World Cup, World Cup, FIFA World Cup 2006…

japan shud easily win…..

more creative players, better experienced, say 2-0 in favor of japan :D

Good no call inside the penalty box.

Brazil has had a fair amount of Japanese immigration too, particularly early in the last century.

work sucks, thanks for keeping us in the know.

Japan 2 – 1 Australia

Japan’s defense looks pretty lost against all those high Aussies on the goal area.

Brazil has the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan, specially on my city (São Paulo), so it’s easy to find sympathy for supporting them here.

Japan will have trouble defending in front of their net for precisely that reason. What I’m concerned about is their pressure – they’ve shown no ability to stop the Aussies from reaching their goal.

2-0 portugal. who cares abt australia and japan :P

WOOHOO! Got one of the pirate Chinese streams working. Hope it lasts. Now I’ll know what Bob’s commentary looks like.

Hehe no matter whos playing or where it is there’s always England flags somewhere :P

u can find a lot many immigrants frm japan in PERU

These squads are really burning up turf. Japan especially better slow down or even their substitutions won’t give them speed late in the second half.

holy CoW!, that aint my countries flag, am simply garnering points for australia. :O

BAH! Streams’s gone…sitting here at work, I wish I was having an Erdinger white beer.

Actually you can find the cross of St. George everywhere because those are the English fans who are still drunk and went to the wrong match…;)

What a well acted dive by Australia :)

i wish i had a day oFF!!!! i work late and wont be home untill the italy match begins :(

life at these times are extremely depressing!

Nakamura so clooossee!

Go Croatia !??!?? I mean..GO Australia, the Little Croatia!

His hair is aerodynamic. :)

Anyone got a link to a stream?

Work sucks…

I say 1-0 aussies

OOOHHHHH THAT WAS CLOSE

Japanese defense has improved somewhat. Goals will probably come off mistakes in this one – they both look to be about equal skill and conditioning.

Australia should have just scored though.

Perfect passes by the Australian team.

heh ronald. heard they went to a french match and sang long live the queen

EAT MY GOOOOOAL!!!!

GOoooolllllll!!!! Japan!

Right now, I can only think “LOL”. That came out of nowhere.

At least the ESPN commentary has some flair. BTW ESPN low streaming is gone. The high stream is working much better now.

jesus, i dont want to put my papers down. can u guys just tune things down a lil… i WANNA WATCH THE MATCH. any streamers?

Hmm he was fouled though

Japan scored off a mistake. Terrible play by Schwarzer.

Hey. I´m working now. Please tell me when a goal appears.

Oh my God, the goalkeeper was blocked by the japanese.

Clear fault, invalid goal.

The aussie goalie got robbed. I smell a foul.

Is it just me or does the ref hate us?

Japan looking more confident now. They’re actually attacking more now, which is the only way they can beat Australia.

Bob, I initially thought it was an own goal. I am following your live blog from work and you had Australia 1 – 0 Japan. Thanks for correcting that.

Oh no, that goal came off a lousy play by Schwarzer, the Aussie goalkeeper. He wasn’t even looking for the ball!

“Still kind of stunned that a quality keeper like Schwartzer would let that one in”

Man, watch the replay. Japanese player fouled the goalkeeper. It was not his fault.

and they say australia plays dirty. right.

No way this game stays at 1 – 0. Too many defensive breakdowns on both sides. More are sure to come.

What’s the result of the game???
Who’s playin’ better???

What a terrible non-call that resulted in a Japan goal! There was clearly contact with the keeper before the ball ever got near the net. The replay shows the goalie being showed out of position to get the ball.

That is bull crap! Those Japs have paid the umps!!!!!!! Im so angry… call us the bullies! Who got the first yellow card and who shoved our goaly over to let a goal in… yeah thats right the JAPS!

We shouldnt have to put up with paid umps or dirty cheating Japs!

HA!!!!
The replay was shown to the refs. Blind or what!!!!

dont turn against the whole race Sam

Japan is improving quite a bit on defense now. They’re getting men quickly back after attacking and their line looks much better than early in the game.

Yes, while I’m supporting Japan, I must admit it was a pretty dirty play.

Because the jap player was clear and intentionaly in the goalkeeper’s body. He didn’t even tried to hit the ball, he just got the goalkeeper in mind.

Pretty Dirty Play.

Im not… just the team and the people who paid the umps. I have no problem with Japs… well except the ones that pay umps and foul.

japs ve an old habit of harakiri, wat goes arnd comes arnd.

i think the ref doesnt really understand japanese and australian. wers he frm? :-O

Nice sportsmanship from both squads there.

pass beer

I’m still peeved about no foul on Schwarzer.

This better not be referee karma for Hiddink’s South Korean triumph in 2002!

Blues are really fast!!!

Assuies bigger but …

It’s not the players fault. Get over it… It’s the refs, they are blind. :-|

This game isn’t bad at all. Australia is a little repetitive, though. They haven’t surprised Japan yet, and they’re getting their chances. Now they just need to finish with a little skill.

im prediciting a riot over that bloody blind decision, hear our guys roar! That’s good old Aussie spirit for ya :D

i say otherwise hex :s

The refs are obviously anti-Slav. Yesterday, they were on S & M. Today, they’re out to get Little Croatia (Australia).

Based on this, the Czechs look as if their talent will be neutralized against USA by the anti-Slav refs.

A shame. Is the UN behind this?

leggo matilda, these things happen. passe

aê galera brasileira! vamos comentar o jogo aew! eu acho que japão ganha! o japão vai ser 2° do grupo! e o Brasil o 1°!!!!!!!!!

Great goal from Japan, just push the goalkeeper out of the way and let the ball go in. The referee blind as a bat and Japanese players must be experts at ten-pin bowling they way they are falling over when no foul is committed.

Good free kick for Australia here.

Good save by Kawaguchi – corner coming.

Yah i agree with utd fan… if the Jap players were not so dirty that goal would not have gone in. But the ump should have picked it up! Thats the thing thats getting me.

ooooWwwwwww that last shot was close!

Now that should have been a yellow card. Australia lucky there.

u neva knw, UN been arnd a lot these days, and they ve thick pockets … the refs have been sold!!!

We can see who is playing the better game here. Aus with more possession.

I think after the Japs decided to start the whole slander thing up the refs are really getting on our back and making something out of nothing.

its a repetition of the last WC when the standard of refereeing was abysmal, and this Egyptian in the Aust/Japan has completed lost it.

Bored the arse off me so far, not much good football…

I’d like to see this end 1-1 but i dont have much hope, i think it’ll stay 1-0 for japan.

Depends what replay you saw on that goal, one angle i would say it ws fair, another angle shows the ball heading straight for his hands, then him being knocked aside.

Not what i was hoping to see…

Oh man, enough whining already. Japan is just playing better than Australia right now. But the Aussies can come back, they just have to make the most of their opportunities.

haha u shouldnt expect much josh (esp if ure in the uk)

The thing I noticed, was after the goal Australia clearly felt liberated to play the physical game they like. You really wouldn’t want them to be angry with you.

You can say that, if some bloody moron decided to give away a goal against you how would you feel. ATM i say BURN HIM!

Sam, are you Luke Wilkshire’s brother?

That’s the half. Australia had some good chances, but after a shaky start the Japanese have settled down and are playing much better.

I don’t agree about this being a bad game. It’s better than Paraguay – England was so far. We’ll see how the second half goes.

What’s the game’s time?

Har di har har. Im actually son of a Ronaldo and i just fight for a fair chance and justice here :P

We havent been in the WC for 32 YEARS! You from the UK are sure to make it every year cause its in your blood and its what you good at. We finally make it and we get jipped! A goal given for nothing. This doesnt sit well with me and any roo fan.

want beer

Come on Aussie ! Predicitions for goals in the second half ?

Final score Ausl 2 – Japan 1

Good teams have possession AND finishing.

Its the difference between whole numbers and percentages, and in a World Cup game, 1/1 is better than 0/10

Of course, when you can foul the goalie that one time….

AHH that ref should burn in hell !

Just saw the replay and the keeper gets elbowed right out the way, the Japanese player knew exactly what he wanted to do…

Ref’s decsision was the worst by an Egyptian since the dude decided to follow Moses and the others into the Red Sea.

Aust 2 Japan 1, but only if they change the ref

Actually the goal WAS valid and it wasn’t a foul.

I also thought it was a foul to start off with, but if you look carefully, the Australian defenders ran into the Japanese, who crashed into Schwarzer, and the ball went in.

No foul by Japan. The goal stands.

i want to talk to the ref in pvt.

You know what? I just watched that goal again twice and I’m more convinced than ever that that was a stupid error by the goalkeeper. HE ran into the Japanese player, who wasn’t even looking at him. Moreover, he never looked at the ball, and didn’t even jump! Anyone who thinks that score came off a foul needs to have their eyes examined.

I could only catch glimpses of it, but great half. Australia is really unlucky to be down 0:1. Welcome to the WC.

As a kid I rooted for USSR, which regularly got robbed by refs in every international competition (WC-82 against Brazil, WC 86 – against Belgium), the list could go on). Australia got to suck it up and play – they seem to lost a little after that non-call.
Refs are human, they make mistakes, sometimes really big mistakes.

Japan played well in counterattack, better than I expected.

You are off your rocker, Akbar, if you look and it doesn’t have to be that carefully, you will see two Japanese players fall intentionally backward onto Schwarzer and prevent him from catching the ball – it’s a FOUL and the goal shouldn’t stand.

[...] I have been following this game on my PC at work courtesy Worldcupblog’s liveblog . [...]

Of course it does, cause when you play a game like this umps cant take stuff back cause IF they did it would make them look like total numbats.

I recon we should take him to court :P have him fined for being a total DICK and not taking appropriate measures such as wearing his prescription sunnies.

Sam, you’re asking an Englishman to feel sorry for Australian lack of sporting achievement?

What about cricket? Rugby? Rugby league? Swimming? Beach volleyball? Opera houses?

Imagine how we feel. 1 Rugby World Cup and 1 Ashes series since the end of the last Ice Age.

missed the first half…how’s the game?

So what this is soccer… its a totally different thing. Just because we are good at other thing doesnt mean you should be hard on us! So you are saying this is payback for being good at a few sports?

Did you catch the Rugby match? :P
That was a weak game… both sides got babied.

Australians are not only bullies, they deserve to be in back of Japan’s 1-0 lead at the half: they’re being outplayed and outgritted. More at…
TOTAL FOOTBALL…www.pierretristam.com

This reminds of that Spain-S.Korea game. That was an egyptian ref too: Gamal Al-Ghandour. Why do they keep bringing these low-class refs to the world cup. Everybody knows you can only use european and south americans referees because they are the only ones who can keep up with the pressure.

its done and over with. goal or no goal, the refs been pumped, greased.. wateva.. cant we wait for the end of thegame and see if the soccerroooos come back?

i cant wait to watch the dutch play argentina

Australia will score this half. How many Japanese legs they break in the process remains to be seen…

Shut up mate you dont know what you are talking about. Just cause we live in Aus doesnt mean we are bullies. Thats just Jap slander, they needed a way to get in front and they decided to do it the dirty way both on and off field.

That last comment was uncalled for.

My God ! Guys, that was the most clear foul in the history of World Cups, come on.

And the proof: the first thing the japanese player did AFTER hit the goalkeeper was raise the arm !

It’s a common-sense: EVERYTIME a player raise hands like saying “it was not foul”, it’s because was foul.

Christ, Marcelo Balboa, get a haircut!

I have to agree with David. That was my first impression after the shock goal ref error…

David, with respect, as a fan who bleeds red and gold, you can’t compare the two. Spain was BLATANTLY ROBBED of victory. It cheapens that crime to compare it to the tame officiating of this game.

I don’t see a foul. GK error. There was a tad of jostling, but nothing substantial to knock a grown man off the ball. Looks like the GK just plain wasn’t looking for the ball.

YES! Have what seems to be a good, stable pirate stream going now. Bodes well for the rest of my at-work viewing (hope it bodes well for the US today).

Ah, but if Australia can come back after being robbed…that could be the start of something.

Not to seem disrespectful here lads, but I grew up on a steady diet of Welsh rugby, and when I turn to look at the screen and see the size of the Aussie players this morning, I think “where’s the goal posts?”. There was just a comment on canadian tv about the disadvantage of the height of Japanese soccer players compared to Australia’s. Reminds me of not that many years ago when the rules of the (rugby) lineout were changed to allow the jumper to be held up, and this allowed rugby players who were naturally shorter to catch the ball. oops!! game’s back on.

egyptians find it difficult to stay their ground … coz of the weight of their history.

if u look back, cleopatra bribed julius and played for agustus, now who scored what?

surprisingly no shadow today !

He was shoved out of the way for sure, and got an elbow to boot afterwards. Definitely a botch up.

I have the right to be angry. Im going to shutup about it now and get on with the game, im very pissed off but i spose nothing i can really do about it. If we lose that will be another story and im sure like me it will sit on the Aus media for a few days.

The japanese make us look big, not the other way around

Timmmmmmyyyyyy!! C’mon Weetbix Kid we need you.

lol, did you hear us sing the anthem? and then the japs… made them look like an extremely small minority. That’s my highlight of the game.

Japan play well. Just no killer instinct on their finishing. Cultural?

“49:04 What are you people doing at work? Don’t you know this is the friggin World Cup? No work for you, folks.”

I have to rely on this web blog while I am at work. I’d rather be drinking some beer and watching but the bills won’t pay themselves.

Roland, I still think the cause is the same: refs with no professional experience being brought to a world class tournament because of political reasons.

Poor baby his leg hurts :(

why is 2nd half always slow? been a feature so far in this world cup

On phone call…was that a coach shoving one of the players?

hm. so the foul-or-not talk may be over but when i looked at it for the last time, Schwarzer wouldnt have caught the ball whether takahara (was it him?) was there or not. i think his body weight was already leaning towards his left and adjusting to catch the ball wouldve taken him longer than the time it woulda taken for the ball to cross the goal line.
maybe?

Man, the shadow in the Australian goal is BRUTAL. It could be 10-0 Japan and you’d never know it.

that equals the yellow card score !

maybe… but he could have also just tried to push Schwarzer out of the way so the ball went in. Spose it depends on the way you look at it

it’s unusually warm in Germany, could be a factor in the slow second halves

the australian GK is spared the Sun :)

yeah… its hard to doubt he didnt INTEND to push the gk. or at least block.
guess we just have to leave it as a goal we shouldn’t be proud of

the earth looks really small when u look frm the moon and the only thing , and the japs spread the rumour, one cud see frm the moon was the gr8 wall of china. ooops, thats the chinese… hmmm well japs chinese wateva.

the whole idea is this just a game. but how the hell can someone beat australia

nothing compared to down here so thats no excuse for us. Its winter now in Perth (for two weeks i think :S) and we havent had one rainy day yet…

Those Aussies are sporting some nice yellow cleats. Aragones would be horrified.

One defener our, one striker in for Australia. They want game.

Poor showings on international stages are nothing new for Australia: not a single goal when it made its only appearance in World Cup play, in Germany in 1974, not a single win when it played in the Confederation Cup last year, and so far this half, not a single attack on goal, let alone a shot on goal. This is barely a team. No wonder they take it out on the little guys when they get a chance (I’m referring to that 31-0 massacre of American Somoa in 2002).
TOTAL FOOTBALL… http://www.pierretristam.com

maybe if the players got as drunk as the crowd they’d have equal energy

the aussies are really playing rough..

I vote this one for the match with the worst Shadow for this WC so far.

Well it is soccer mate. We shoukld bring them down for some aussie rules and see how they do… lmao that would be soooooooooo funny. That dont understand how much more physical it is than soccer.

It would go like this…
Aus player tackles the Jap and Jap call out “OMG Ref thats ****, he just jumped on me and broke my nose, shouldnt he get a red card?”

Ref “ahhh… hrmm, think you should go back to soccer mate.”

COME ON ROOOOOOOOS!!!

sad to see racist chatter here :(

100,000 people in that stadium and like a billion viewers around the world and they can’t like get a floodlight or something for that shadow?

Not that there’s much in this half that I really care to see.

OMG

*Laughing at the obvious chips on Total Footballs puny shoulders*

We are not even playing rough, you just have that mind set now and we can thank the Japs for that…. (referring to the slander the Aus tactic they used)

you want to see rough mate give me ya email and ill send you an AFL match… no final, no world cup just a normal match.

We know how to play soccer, we know the rules, thats why we aren’t kicking japs ass literally. We are playing the game fair and square, you want to see rough replay that goal again mate.

the shadow was worse over the weekend…almost half the field was in shadow

It is a kind of low grade racism to assume because a player is shorter they can be easily overcome. Wrong. Strength, height and power are only part of the equation, and come into play on only certain plays. Mexico is also short and they would annihilate the Aussies based on this performance.

I really don’t want to be at this friggin work . I want to go home and watch Football. I envy you guys

nothing racist here… just pointing out the facts and giving opinions…. now that was a foul! see who did that, no dirty play then by Aus… he wasnt even going for the ball…. come one GOAL! Please…

will aussies make something out of this free kick?

Mohan – I totally agree with you about the racist talk here. I thought the term “Jap” went out with wop, gook and dago. Lots of Archie Bunkers here, apparently.

good save by jap GK..and the goal eludes aussies

Excellent save….

The Aussies aren’t being any more physical than the Italians.

If it’s not whistled it’s not a foul…it’s as simple as that.

I actually would like to see a link to AFL…I’ve only seen a few minutes but it seems very Rugby esque…

That was a low bullet too…

I would hate to see US lose but . I hope Checz give them 3-0. What do you think?

Kimi-Ga-Yo

Jap = Japanese

come on guys what with the political correctness, you are turning nutty!

I call them Japs and Us Aussies… same thing eye? Nothing racist at all… point out the racism in that and ill give in but otherwise dont go around falsely accusing people cause that is slander.

Australia should utilize its height advantage more by crossing the ball in. Not to worry, Brazil and Croatia will show them how to do it later on…

what wud ya call sum1 whos boxing on the ground today?

jeez the dude is shadow boxing!!!!

:-O, it doesnt get any worse

lol ill try to find you a game mate… otherwise just go to http://www.afl.com.au and you may be able to see some highlights. You would like to see it, we are strong guys. My teams captain got punched in the nose so it was bleeding and didnt make a fuss about it or call for a foul, its just the thing we do.

Not to say we dont call fouls cause we do, anything above the neck is out and if its intentional your out.

Its a great game, not too much like rugby a bit better i would say :P only my opinion… but its no where near as big as soccer and the WC.

new german technology = Shadow Soccer = sad

what the hell were they thinking?

Man I hope this ends in a tie….goooooooo Croatia!

The Aussies never center the ball. When they get close in the penalty, why don’t they pass it back and get a clear shot?

both teams look tired…who will crack first?

Second half much more exciting!!

why didn’t he shoot? beats me !!

Australia very lucky there. Japan had a two on one against the gk, but screwed it up.

Zero fighter

That was a close one… both teams have skill, aus just not using it too well. We could be ahead by so much! More shots at goal but obviously less results.

Believe me I’ll knock down idiots if they post racist rubbish too.

But to be fair, people are watching this live and typing at speed. They just can’t be bothered writing Japanese in full. Like “Brits” rather than Englishmen… or “Yanks” rather than Americans… or “Aussies” rather than Australians.

Be nice everyone. :)

australis go ahead on yellow card !

Nice push there

Is Takahara’s hair cut that bad?

yeah, you got it mate :) right with ya on that one! You champ…

I LOVE the reverse angle. Two handed shoves exposed.

ESPN used to show Aus rules in the US years ago. Jeez, i feel so old, and i’m just 32. But that was maybe in the first ten years of their existence, 1980-90. Fun stuff, i miss it.

I wonder if Bob is drinking Japanese beer to make this game happen. :)

Bob is drinking Erdinger White Beer for this liveblog and “Sadly it is all gone.”

lmao so funny… two AFL teams went to the UK to play and after the match there was a liitle riot on the field which has never happened in Aus… shows the big sporting differences :P if that happened here it would be major news.

Wow. Aloisi for idiot foul of the tournament. Totally unnecessary and in clear view.

Lets go aussies

Australia is a both a country and continent. Smallest continent I suppose.

Australia had 15 shots at the goal against Japanese 5…poor finishing

Largest island

If this is the best Australia can muster, Croatia and Brazil will walk all over them.

Still, at least they made the trip.

What another great save!

er.. coz the aussies play in a certain way in the afl.. so one can say that’s how soccer is to be played? that other ppl cant think it’s rough, and i din know the japanese said things abt the aussies until i saw it in the comments.. so i was looking at the match, and it occurred to me.. no pre-fixed mindset..

Finally, Australian scrappiness pays dividends. We got us a game!

finally they got one !!!!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS COME ONE AUSSIE! A LEGIT GOAL WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FCKN LEGEND!

TIMMMMMYYYYY!! we love you

Peter thanks for the recommendation. I will have to look for the white as in weiss beer. With lemon? :)

GOAL!!! AUSSSIEEEE!!!

Hiddink must be proud of the boys now. That’s some luck.

no one can not say that cause that would be bullshit! there is a difference in the sports… AFL hands on… soccer hands off… i can see a diff and so can our players. Mate liek i said before if you are pissed about us being rough check out the Jap goal replay.

Where’s the penalty?? That was a cheap shot

GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL very proud of Aus. Well i hope the game doesn’t draw

hahahahaha, CLEAR PENALTY KICK FOR JAPAN !

This referee is a joke !

Sam: “Japs” was a pejorative term used to call the Japanese during WW2 (ie, see the WW2 ally posters) hence why it’s not accepted very well. It’s not like saying “Aussie”, really, so it’s a bit more that just political correctness.

http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/Amer_pol_hist/fi/00000186.htm

Bob actually drinks beer through a straw, no lemon.

err that wasnt even… he hardly touched him.

Check out the fans! Why cant we hear the japs?

OMG!

You can really tell the difference in size vs. speed with these two teams.

good try that !

And Japan also plays baseball, but that doesn’t give them the right to take bats and whack their opponents. :)

Anyway, glad to see Aus tie it (do you say “equalise” in Australia?) – partially offsets the controversy over the Japanese goal.

Pretty funny…I just refreshed the blog and got the GOAL entry. Then I toggled back to the “live” feed and waited to see it happen. Nothing like watching a live broadcast and knowing what’s going to happen! If the score stands, I will have called it spot on.

Who cares about AFL!!!

Gasp, Fukunishi was close there.

Oh why you Japan… :/

who gives a fuck mate… thats in the past WWII long time ago… anyone that hold a grudge about the past wars is just messed up eye… where are we playing? what country? We dont say nothing about that… cause we are over it.

FUCKING GOAL! BLOODY LEDGENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES!

Bringing Cahill on worked out pretty well.

What a turn around this !!!

anyone know where I can get a live feed in english on the net?

CAAAAAHHHILLLLL!!!!

How about that. Kudos to the Aussies. What a game!

TIMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY TIMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY
TIMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY
yahooooooooo

Sam I gotta say I’m with ze on the “Japs” thing. And since when was taking him down with a slide tackle to the ankles “hardly touching” him?

Japan just looks tired. Zico should have substituted on defense.

Wow I predicted correctly lol. 2-1 Aussies

Agree with the guy from ESPN2: Poetic justice !!!!

Note to self: Don’t use that Americanism to say that I’m “r___ing for Australia” ….

SWEET hook. Going high and out, is the way to score against the J. :)

Wow, Japanese defense slept

this will be a much talked about comeback from brink of defeat

mate that bullshit. Im not aloud to say poms and yanks now? thats an outrage and you cant take it away from me… typing japanese is too long…

you want me to stop saying Jap dont say lol or use anything like that and ill be happy to do it. its the fckn 21st cent and speed is everything mate.

I wasnt talking about the ankle bit i was talking about he double headers!

Anothert goal!!!! YES!!!!

holy shit!

Japanese destroyed now

OH MY GOD! Amaaazing. 3-1!!

I did not expect 3 goals out of Australia. Japan just totally breaking down now. Zico needs to take out Nakamura.

Good show Aussies! Another “New World” team on the move-bodes well for US maybe?????

ITS ALL OVER. Now that the aussies got their confidence back…. Good game to both teams!!! Low and right too. :)

BULLLETTTTT!!!

3 goals in 6 minutes…Japan is hit by a tsunami !!

Three goals in eight minutesssssss

we won!

come on aussie come one come one, come on aussie come on!

good game japan…

I’m amazed. Zico’s gotta be crying now. He’ll be reading the defenders the riot act after the game.

Quite a finish to the game. Congrats to Australia. Big win for them. Going to be tough for Japan to do anything in the group now.

Wow. That was a shocker. Japan just fell asleep, alas. Zico needed to make those substitutions earlier. Baffling.

Congratulations to Australia, and good luck against Brazil.

Ok so I spoke to soon but good job to the Aussies. 3-1. I wish I could have been able to watch the last 15 minutes of this one.

what a great final 8 minutes. we had a great weekend of World Cup, and now kicking off a wonderful string of games for Monday. Go USA!!! i haven’t missed a single game yet this cup, my boss is letting me watch it on Univision at work all week!

Sam: Apparently you don’t “give a fuck”, but that’s not reason enough to think it’s all right. It’s not about having a grudge on the past, it’s about having a term that is STILL used on a pejorative nature and has an attached symbolism to it that won’t be erased so fast. What you or me think of it doesn’t matter; if you say DOG it means DOG, even if you want it to mean CAT.

first win ever! first goals scored! what a game for us… goals in the last 8mins :D i just told a few of my mates and they didnt have a clue thought we lost cause they turned off 10mins to go thinking it was over!!!

what a game, and what a bunch of champs!

OUCH! What a way to lose it. Japan should’ve gotten a penalty kick for that takedown, but nevertheless, kudos for two late goals. This could very well crush the Japanese. They have to hope for a draw on Japan and a victory over Croatia to have any chance now.

Congrats Australia ! Nice turnaround, you deserved it.

Two big mistakes by referee:

- Foul on goalkeeper in the first japanese goal.
- Clear penalty in the japanese player.

If Blatter keeps his words, this referee will go back home.

Fortunaly it didn’t messed up so much in the final result, all merit for Australia.

Wow! Too bad I’m at work and couldn’t watch the game. What a turnaround. Thanks for the commentary, guys. It makes being at work bearable.

I couldn’t find live audio from the 50 million streaming ABC stations, but ABC Sydney (ram) is talking about it on the postgame. But wow, this guy’s so calm…. must be sleepy that late at night.

Gotta love this game! From despair to exhilaration in the space of 10 minutes.

Bad luck Japan – you guys really took it to us.

Good job by Australia, Japan’s road is meant to be a tough one now. They have to win against both Croatia and Brazil, or at least tie and expect the other teams to tie or lose in a way that they’ll have too few points.

Stuart-

where are you getting the live feed in the Dominican Republic? I have been trying CDN for over an hour, but no luck thanks to my friend “buffering”

thanks

Ze, Sam: I assume this is why the three-letter code for Japan is JPN, not JAP.

Ooh, now the ABC guy is talking about anti-soccer feeling in Australia by the “sporting establishment.” Huge parallels to the US over the last 12-16 years.

Ze mate its not worth it, get over it. It doesn’t matter, you can call me an aus and i dont care cause i know its easier than typing Australia. I know what i mean when i say Jap and if i wanted to be racist i would call them something with a negative connotation. If Japs racist this world is messed up. Get over it mate, political correctness gone wrong.

We not here to talk about it, we are meant to be talking about the game…. Aus pulled in together and used the opportunities to come through and win.

They didnt play a really good game and i would like to see them to do it better. Must be a bug going round, all the teams seem a bit sloppy :P

Japan just fell apart after the first Ozzie goal… that match was headed to be a stinker, but the turnaround is just the kind of thing that can happen in football, eh?

mmm… soccer is an intresting sport!

Jap should have had a penalty and that goal shouldnt have been in. Should be Aus 2-0 or 2-1 but we cant change it, ump errors is a part of the game :P 3-1 and awesome game to watch… in the last 8 min, lol.

Excellent game! or should I say excellent finish!!

I suppose Autralia was saving all the good stuff for the end. Bravo anyways.

And I see here that the comments have turned into a war about racism (a war that never ends, and always gets worse).

Racism never ends.

Just reminded me of an iranian friend wanting to rip open the ABC channel commentator’s skull because of his political comments about Iran.

Salam.

Philip – In all due honesty, I think the thing in Australia is a bit different. Their sports interest is dominated by a bunch of other sports, for sure, stuff like Rugby or Cricket or something else, but sports in Australia in a way isn’t similar to sports in USA because it’s not as commercial or as visual as it’s on USA. In USA, more than just a cultural wall, there’s a whole commercial wall that blocks “soccer” from ever getting too popular, simply because it’s not marketable as other sports are. It only has one half-time, few space for commercials, and the leagues already stablished don’t give any space for the game to get popular. At least that’s what I see. Australia’s approach to Rugby, however, is much similar to our (brazilian) approach to football, that’s why I think it’s much easier for Australia to like football that USA.

can somebody tell me the name of a website where i can listen to live commentary on the world cup while at work? please

Wow. Unbelievable. The two freaking teams I was rooting for this World Cup were Iran and Japan. I’ve broken too many things. I was angered and stressed all day yesterday. I will be angered and stressed all day today. The way both teams lost is just…

I am honestly, literally going to have to give up watching the World Cup.

I just can’t take this anymore. It is bad for my health.

The sporting establishment in the US hates soccer and the World Cup in particular. The main reason is television and the way commercials constantly interrupt the action in the US. Soccer’s continuous play is anathema to American networks. That’s why they never show the passion or atmosphere surrounding the World Cup games, and why the sport is always slandered as being boring and tedious. The sports establishment here doesn’t like the growing US success in soccer, or its increasing popularity with young kids.

Fuck ‘em. Go USA!

we dont love soccer? Its the most played Aus sport but its not our fav…

the western and southern states are into AFL footy, the easter are more into rugby.

but being in this wonderful country and having freedom of choice we play all sports…

in the winter in play AFL on weekends and soccer in school comps durning the week. In summer i play cricket for school and baseball… this is only me. In Aus we play all sports, soccer is not our major sport and i dont think it will be, but we will still play it and put in our best effort to master it.

wow, too bad for Japan, they may not be able to make it out of this group with Brazil and croatia coming up.

[...] Tim Cahill a super sub who I blogged about earlier was the hero of the day with two goals in the space of five minutes. You can read up on how the drama unfolded right here. [...]

Sam: I can call you aus because it doesn’t have any other meaning attached.

You can say what you will, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re using a pejorative term. You can run on an american suburb shoting “NIGGER” and I can tell you it won’t get you many friends. It’s the same thing with “Jap”. I’m not a PC person and I personally hate that kind of crap, and I can see you just don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m just sad you’re insterested in “speed” more than respect about something you don’t know about. So whatever.

Sorry I can only say one thing:

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

This one is for you Johnny!

O.K., next match.

Czech 4
USA 1
..but if the same ref from the Japan-Australia game shows up (trying to get in that time & a half overtime pay)

Czech 2
USA 1

Holy Cow!!

That last goal might be like gold at the end of the group stage! Also means we can go out fairly aggressive against Brazil! Actually who cares, that’s us, way over expectations already. Man, the WC is brutal. Poor Japanese (And to you guys complaining, you’re right, but there is no non-perjorative short form of japanese and at least he didn’t go with Nips!)

Well played Japan. Look forward to the future in Asia.

Nikki, my understanding is that only BBC five live has live streaming commentary, but only UK residents are allowed access. (lucky bastards) ;)

Congrats to Australia for a fantastic finish. Nothing against Japan, but it would have been bad for the game to end 1-0 because of a questionable goal.

This kind of action is what makes the World Cup so great. Now back to work for a little while before the USA-Czech game!

MATE let it go you wont win. Nigger is a bad term… Jap is not as it has no racisit meaning behind it. If i wanted to insult i would say gook or something like that… ill let it go now mate, but dfont you go starting it back up again.

Its rubbish… spose you can put it like this…
you can call me white but i can call you black…

I really feel bad for the Japanese. They’ve worked hard to get to where they are and they did not show their best game today. I blame Zico. The Japanese just had no legs at the end of that match.

The Aussies are the upstart of the tourney, and I felt that Japan deserved to advance this time based on recent cup history. But that’s the World Cup for you – anything can happen and nobody owes anybody shit. That’s the way it should be.

See you next game!

Well done to Japan. Even they did not win the match but i still have to give them a clap n also some support words. I hope Japan in 2ns match will play more better.

Japan have done a great job at the 1st half time. Also a well done to the goalkeeper cos in this match he has do his best and he really trying hard.

Even Japan did not win this time, but i really hope they going to win the others 2 match.

Some words for the Japan player, even your competitor have win ahead u, dont nervous or feel bad cos this will interupt your feeling while playing the match. Also never give up even till the end. Always bare in mind, dont nervous, never rush and never scare when you guys facing the strong teams. Cos not only Japanese is here to support you but is whole ASIAN is here to support your guys.

Gambaday Japan!!!

Doomoarigato gozaimas to all Japan Fans.

What a great match (if you’re an Aussie) with 10 mins to go I thought we were out of it, but Cahill brought us back! Tomorrow should be Cahill day!

I don’t expect to win, I’m not having a fight with you. Quite the contrary, I’m trying to help.

The thing is, “Jap” HAS a negative connotation. You just don’t know about it.

http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3Ajap

I don’t think you want to offend anyone. I’m just saying that you’re using a word that’s usually meant for this very purpose, without knowing it. Whether you want to use that anyway doesn’t matter to me, as it’s your problem. But being ignorant of the problem won’t make it go away.

I think Czech Vs USA result will be 3-0 in favour of Czech

How the heck did this happen. Feel real bad for the Japanese.

Score prdeiction Czech vs US

3-2in favour of Czech. Sorry US next time.

Well, you can be sure Japan’s gonna have some extra support when they play Croatia!

Gambate Japan Indeed!!!! Go Get ‘em.

i can die now

Gotta gree with ze. “jap” is used as a racist term atleast in the USA. But then this goes back to WW2. Maybe its not considered that way in Australia.

Anyway … all excited about the USA-Czech game.

Even better postgame talk: SEN1116 (asx). ‘Roos fans predicting a tie with Brasil. But i won’t be listening much longer — off to watch USA-CZE

USA-Czech will be great. I do expect a Czech win, but as I got this game wrong, I might as well be wrong on that one too…

ok mate i will stop it if it actually offends but from my i find that to be stupid. If i cant call them japs they cant call me an aussie, say poms yanks.

If you get rid of one you have to take them all. I would rather leave them all and just get people to see over this racist bump in the road and not take all this bullshit to heart. Take a few thing from the australian guide book “who give a rats arse, get over it”

How about Japp’s? Not so offensive now! Unless they assue you’re a bad speller.

WAHEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAHILLOISI!

the japanese looked quite disorganised in this game, and by the end, seemed to totally give up..so feel quite sorry for them, they werent playing at their best… haha, i can hear honking cars now, guess the party has started!

Spence- Thanks for the info. let me know if there is a positive update on live commentaries

-I stand by what I said. If you look at the replay it was the Australians who were pushing around, Japans first goal is legit and it stands.

The Brits have a bad habit of blaming referees for their own failures, and unfortunately they left this behind in Australia for their descendants.

-Regarding the match, congratulations to the Aussies here. Beautiful finishing. Note how Hiddink’s substitutes scored all three goals. Great management.

its not an english thing its a human thing… its called getting involved with the game and giving it your heart :P

add on :

Zico…Zico….you should have substituted on defense. Can you see your player is so so tired ? How can they play like ? Zico should take up the biggest responsiblity on this lose.

You should look after you players and see them in good condition before you wishing them win the game.

Zico, you should take this notice in the 2nd games. Please dont make our Asian dreams melt like an ice under the sun.

Our hope just on Japan and Korea so please help Japan Team to Win!!!

Come on Akbar! It was 50/50 at best.

Zico on interview:

. Asked about the hot weather and if that worked against Japan, he said it did work against Japan but it also worked against Australia, and they did lose but because they made many mistakes, not because of the weather

guys…. this is just a games. Dont quarel on this. No matter who win, we should congratulation them. As what… no matter english, british, asian or what ever…. we are just same…. cos we are human been….

we should happy cos we can gather here as a football fans.

To all Aussie fans… congratulation….

To all Japan fans…. keep support them and give them the warm support to cheer them up for next match….

No matter who is champion we are all in one BIG Family, THE WORLD CUP FEVER BIG FAMILY!!!

Hey guys, cheer up…. let’s party no matter win or lose…

. Zico also says Australian players were stronger and bigger, so quick plays were tougher for Japan

thanks zé for the information.

anyway, asian should eat more to grown bigger. hahaha…. Just kidding….

:)

Sam I was on your side when it was clear you were just abbreviating but now you’re being kind of stubborn because for some people Jap has very bad connotations. I know you’re excited but just be respectful, it isn’t about winning an argument. Anyway, shake hands boys or start emailing each other. Pretty please! ;)

Lord, that game almost gave me a heart attack.

Poor Japan but well done Socceroos. We didn’t wait 32 years for you to crash out at the first hurdle. Those two Timmy goals might finally shut David Moyes up!! LOL

Night all.

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Guys the heat is what made both teams extremely tired. As u can see all 3 australian goals were by subs.

that being said it was an exciting game in the end

Well, the TV interview was cut short, but anyways it looks like Zico was pretty apologetic and very much in the game, he said he’ll concentrate his mind on the Croatian match now and work from that on.

matilda, good night to you…

i think no matter win or lose, once you support the team, they are forever champion in your heart.

Australia deserved to win. They gave their all despite entering the 80th minute with less than a ghost of a chance to win. Japan just sat on their undeserved 1-0 lead and shuffled around arrogantly, and did not put away the few chances they had. And they were bitten by the super-subs of Guus Hiddink.

This so reminds me of Manchester United’s come from behind victory against Bayern Munich in 1999. I’m not a ManU fan but forced to admit that they (and Australia) had the guts to win.

Just a 1-0 win against Croatia would do the trick.

GOOD ON YER, MATES!

All my hopes are crushed
Why?
Doshite?
Nani!!

bah hope japan ties with brazil and wins croatia

im just kidding myself

glad to hear Zico going to work harder in the next match. Hope next match we can see and get a good result from Japan.

shunji, dont say like this. You should trust them. Who know they really did it for the next 2 match. Miracle might happen. No one know.

Believe in yourself n also them.

Your support mean alotz to them.

I really hope they can win but even i know the changes is so limited.

I think that no body was especting this result, Australia has made a fanfukingtastic performance, especialy at the end.

Thanks Wang Xin Ling. That’s very consoling.
Hope they can win too! Gambatte!

all this talk about racism
go to japan
ever heard of a round eye bar?

I don’t wish Parreira had called Romario. Although he still scores many goals in Brazil, but he’s too old, and remains still most of the time in the field.

Good thing the U.S. isn’t in the same group as the Aussies. Hooray for Australia!

Meh!

I was really hoping that Japan would get at least 2 in this match! What happened to them since 2002!?

[...] Australia vs Japan | LiveBlog [...]

Australian deserved to win this game.bravo!!!

what crap was there about saying that australia was only here to make up the numbers?
USA coach said that!

Soccer is shit softcock sport. Play Australian Rules Football or Rugby ya bunch of wanker tosspots. By the way….JAPS, NIPS, call em what u like we fukn killed em. fukn gooks.

[...] Pregame: Japan got spanked in the last few minutes of there last game and as expected, Croatia lost to Brazil. Which team will come out on top and have a legit chance to qualify from this group? What do you think will be the final score? Bet on World Cup 2006 Buy World Cup Kits World Cup on your Mobile Phone      Buy World Cup Tickets      Swap World Cup Tickets      World Cup Travel World Cup Photos World Cup Video Photo & Video Contest   Category: World Cup 2006, Group F, LiveBlog Tags: LiveBlog, June 18, Japan-Croatia, Japan, Croatia, Tag Index   « Preview: Japan vs. Croatia | Home | If you found “LiveBlog: Japan-Croatia” useful or interesting, please share it with others by bookmarking it at the following sites: .wp-notable img {border: none;margin-left:5px;}             Comments  |  Add your comment [...]

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