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Australia's Tim Cahill wins the ball against Abe Yuki of Japan, during their final match of the Asia Qualifiers round for the 2010 World Cup, in Melbourne, Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Australia beat Japan 2-1, with both countries having already qualified for next year's World Cup in South Africa. AAP Image/Joe Castro
“First team to qualify, first team to go home” was the joke doing the rounds of the local press after Japan confirmed their place at the World Cup finals. And it was Australia who did just enough to suggest that they might be able to advance beyond the group stages after a 2-1 win over the Japanese at the MCG last night.
It was the curse of Tim Cahill yet again for Japan, as the Everton midfielder reprised his role in Germany to score twice from set pieces.
Following a drama-charged build-up that included allegations of a drunken night out, an emotional Cahill refused to talk to reporters outside the ground after his Man-of-the-Match performance.
Fortunately for Australian fans he let his football do the talking, and it was a gritty performance all round from a Socceroos outfit that conceded for the first time in the final round of qualifiers..
“Typically Australian,” was how tenacious midfielder Vinnie Grella summed up the hard-fought victory, with Grella himself turning in a characteristically understated performance.
After a bright opening, Australia soon succumbed to a Japanese side hoping for Kengo Nakamura to shine in the absence of fellow creative talents Shunsuke Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo.
It was Nakamura’s in-swinging corner that the talismanic Marcus Tulio Tanaka powered home just before half-time to hand Japan the lead at the break.
Yuto Nagatomo’s fascinating duel with Rhys Williams had resulted in the Middlesbrough defender conceding a corner five minutes before the interval, and the powerful Tulio timed his run to perfection to beat marker Cahill to the ball.
It was no surprise to discover that Tulio’s battle with Cahill was one of the most fiercely contested of the night, as the two unflinchingly patriotic players went at each other hammer and tongs.
Cahill returned the favour when he arrowed a header into the top corner from a Vinnie Grella free-kick on the hour mark, although television replays suggest that the first contact actually came from Tulio’s head.
It was Cahill again who saved the best for last, profiting as Japan keeper Seigo Narazaki flapped at a Nicky Carle corner to bundle home the winner.
“Of course they must be disappointed and at the same time they want us to be stronger,” was how Takeshi Okada predicted Japan fans might react to their team finishing second in the group.
There was no such disappointment from Pim Verbeek, who won his duel with former Kyoto Sanga sparring partner Daisuke Matsui, whom Okada excused from a relatively ineffective performance by claiming that Matsui had picked up a knock.
Highly-regarded Shimizu S-Pulse striker Shinji Okazaki also failed to stamp any influence on the game, although strike partner and dead-ball expert Keiji Tamada did have one curling free-kick cleared off the line.
A procession of foul throws prompted gasps in the press box, but anyone that has witnessed a J. League game will be well aware that throw-ins are one aspect of the game that the Japanese are yet to perfect.
Nevertheless there was plenty of technical skill on show, and it was nice to see some of it displayed by our very own Nicky Carle.
The Crystal Palace man has become a cause célèbre for his inability to crack the starting eleven, but if the gifted midfielder’s commitment has come into question in the past, surely a performance that saw him track back and defend as doggedly as anyone dispells such notions.
Humble in the extreme, Carle told me after the match that he was happy to do “whatever the team needs” when quizzed on his preferred role for the Socceroos.
It was that kind of game for Australia – with all involved simply pleased to drink in the big-match atmosphere generated by the 69,238 fans in attendance.
Whether the Socceroos advance to the knock-out stages of the World Cup finals depends heavily on the draw, and there are plenty of kinks in the team still to be ironed out.
But if it’s mental toughness that could ultimately see the Socceroos crawl over the line, then Pim Verbeek’s outfit have got it in spades.