Australia T Cahill 84 T Cahill 89 J Aloisi 90 3-1 (0-1) Japan S Nakamura 26   Bookings: V Grella 34 C Moore 58 T Cahill 69 J Aloisi 78     Bookings: T Miyamoto 31 N Takahara 40 T Moniwa 68 AUSTRALIAJAPAN Possession 55% 45% Shots on target 11 3 Shots off target 8 5 Corners 5 3 Fouls 23 11

Australia 01 M Schwarzer 02 L Neill 03 C Moore (61 J Kennedy ) 05 J Culina 20 L Wilkshire (75 J Aloisi ) 07 B Emerton 13 V Grella 23 M Bresciano (52 T Cahill ) 14 S Chipperfield 10 H Kewell 09 M Viduka Subtitutes 15 J Aloisi, 16 M Beauchamp, 04 T Cahill, 12 A Covic, 18 Z Kalac, 19 J Kennedy, 11 S Lazaridis, 22 M Milligan, 06 T Popovic, 08 J Skoko, 21 M Sterjovski, 17 A Thompson Japan 23 Y Kawaguchi 03 Y Komano 05 T Miyamoto 14 A Santos 19 K Tsuboi (56 T Moniwa ) 22 Y Nakazawa 15 T Fukunishi 07 H Nakata 10 S Nakamura 09 N Takahara 13 A Yanagisawa (79 S Ono ) Subtitutes 12 Y Doi, 04 Y Endo, 17 J Inamoto, 21 A Kaji, 11 S Maki, 02 T Moniwa, 06 K Nakata, 01 S Narazaki, 08 M Ogasawara, 16 M Oguro, 18 S Ono, 20 K Tamada Ref: Essam Abdel Fatah

FULL TIME: Australia 3-1 Japan.

92 mins: GOAL Australia 3-1 Japan
John Aloisi wraps up the win, charging through on goal to bury the ball in the left-hand corner.

92 mins: Substitute Teruyuki Moniwa is himself replaced, by Masashi Oguro.

89 mins:GOAL Australia 2-1 Japan
Substitute Tim Cahill makes it 2-1 with his second goal, a shot from the edge of the box which hits Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi's right-hand post and flies into the far corner.

88 mins: Takashi Fukunishi shoots just wide for Japan.

85 mins: Japan have strong penalty shouts waved away after a clumsy challenge by Tim Cahill on Takashi Fukunishi.

84 mins:GOAL Australia 1-1 Japan
Tim Cahill scores Australia's first ever goal in the World Cup finals to pull Australia level. Goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi flapped at Lucas Neill's long throw and after a goalmouth scramble Cahill shot home.

83 mins: Nakazawa concedes a free-kick in a dangerous area for pushing Josh Kennedy, 10 yards outside the box, dead centre. John Aloisi's arrow-straight shot is blocked by goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.

80 mins: Japan manage to relieve the pressure somewhat, but whenever they get the ball up the other end of the pitch, they lack cutting edge in front of goal.

78 mins: Atsushi Yanagisawa goes off, replaced by the experienced Shinji Ono.

74 mins: John Aloisi becomes the latest player booked for a shove on Yuji Nakazawa, relieving the pressure on Japan.

74 mins: Japan waste a great rare counter attack chance.

74 mins: With time running out, Australia take off Luke Wilkshire and send on another striker, John Aloisi.

71 mins: Mark Viduka is a constant threat as Japan are pinned back in defence.

69 mins: Tim Cahill is booked for a foul on Yuichi Komano.

67 mins: Josh Kennedy is brought down on the edge of the box by Teruyuki Moniwa, who is booked and concedes a free-kick just to the left of the goal, right on the edge of the box. Mark Viduka slams the ball low through the net, and it is well saved by Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.

65 mins: Japan are defending well as substitutes Tim Cahill and Josh Kennedy have tilted the advantage Australia's way.

63 mins: Josh Kennedy's entrance to the game has made an instant impact, with Japan struggling to deal with his height and physical presence.

60 mins: In another tactical change by Australia, defender Craig Moore goes off, to be replaced by tall striker Josh Kennedy.

58 mins: Mark Schwarzer's poor headed clearance from the edge of his box sets up a sustained period of Japanese pressure, with striker Mark Viduka being forced into defensive action.

57 mins: Craig Moore is booked for tugging the shirt of the elusive Atsushi Yanagisawa.

55 mins: Keisuke Tsuboi is replaced by Teruyuki Moniwa. The introduction of Cahill has made an instant difference to Australia's attacking approach.

53 mins: Keisuke Tsuboi is taken off for treatment for cramp with less than an hour played.

52 mins: As predicted by Dion Dublin, Tim Cahill comes on for Marco Bresciano in what appears to be a tactical change.

51 mins: Shunsuke Nakamura shows some neat footwork on the right hand side for Australia, only for Mark Schwarzer to gather in his weak cross.

48 mins: A worrying sign for Australia as Harry Kewell pulls up injured in the centre circle.

"I don't think it'll be long until we see Tim Cahill come on for Australia"
BBC Five Live summariser Dion Dublin

PLAYER RATER: Goalscorer Shinsuke Nakamura is well ahead in your player ratings at the moment, with Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka the highest-scoring Australian players.

HALF-TIME: One piece of luck for Japan divides the teams at the interval. Australia have posed plenty of threat themselves, but the heat is sure to become a factor as the game continues.

45 mins: One minute of additional time to be played at the end of a hugely entertaining first half, with the game still very much in the balance.

40 mins: Marco Bresciano's 35-yard free-kick curls inches wide of Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi's left-hand post, the closest Australia have yet come to scoring.

39 mins: Naohiro Takahara is booked for delaying the taking of an Australian free-kick.

37 mins: Scott Chipperfield and Marco Bresciano combine well on the left yet again, but with no result. Australia have had most of the game since going a goal behind, with most attacks coming down the left.

34 mins: Vince Grella's pass finds Harry Kewell wide on the left, which seems to be Australia's favourite place to attack, but his volleyed cross lacks pace and direction.

33 mins: Australia's Vince Grella follows him into the book for a foul.

30 mins: Japan captain Tsuneyasu Miyamoto is the first player booked, for a foul on Marco Bresciano, as the tempo picks up following Japan's goal.

26 mins: Harry Kewell almost produces an instant reply for Australia, charging through on goal and clipping the top of the bar.

25 mins:GOAL Australia 0-1 Japan
Shunsuke Nakamura puts Japan ahead with a speculative long-range effort, which floats over goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who seems to collide with Atsushi Yanagisawa, and into the net.

24 mins: Mark Viduka's delicate flick-on into the path of Marco Bresciano sets up Australia's best chance so far, but the first-time shot is weak and easily pushed away by goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi.

"The Japanese will stick to trying to find holes in the defence, not playing any long balls. Australia will have to be patient." BBC Five Live pundit Dion Dublin

21 mins: Naohiro Takahara has the best chance of the game so far when he turns and shoots just inches wide of the Australian goal, having been set up well by Alex's cut in from the left wing.

20 mins: No major shooting chances for either side in the first 20 minutes, but both sides are playing at a great pace and with plenty of enthusiasm despite the boiling temperatures.

17 mins: Harry Kewell is fouled 35 yards out by Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, in a potentially dangerous position, but Australia fail to make the most of the situation.

13 mins: A sustained period of Australian play comes to an end when Marco Bresciano blazes the ball way over the bar. The Socceroos are now much more at ease, with Mark Viduka causing Japan all kinds of problems on the left.

12 mins: Mark Viduka's flick allows Jason Culina to get into the box on the left-hand side, but his appeals are waved away by the referee when he goes down under a challenge.

10 mins: Another Japanese counter attack leads to a corner on the right, taken by Shunsuke Nakamura. Although it leads to an Australian free-kick, the game is off to a fast and entertaining start.

6 mins: Australia's Mark Viduka breaks clear on the left and draws a fine double save from goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi. Australia win two corners, but fail to do anything with either of them.

4 mins: Japan have most of the ball early on, with the Brazilian-born Alex causing problems for Australia on the left wing.

1 min: Japan win an early free-kick but Shunsuke Nakamura hits it straight into the Australian wall.

1400 BST: The game kicks off.

1355 BST: Australia's fans provide a deafening rendition of the national anthem ahead of their first World Cup game in 32 years, whereas Japan's fans are more restrained in their singing.

1315 BST: Fans of both countries are preparing for a late night back at home watching the game.

The match kicks off at 11pm local time in Sydney with Australian Prime Minister John Howard saying: "I think there will be millions of our fellow countrymen and women watching them and cheering them on."

Howard said he would also be staying up to watch the match.

1300 BST: The teams are in for the opening match in Group F between Australia and Japan.

Middlesbrough striker Mark Viduka has overcome a calf injury to start for Australia while Liverpool's Harry Kewell covers for Everton's Tim Cahill, who is only fit enough to start on the bench.

Japan strikers Naohiro Takahara and Atsushi Yanagisawa are fit and take their place in the side alongside midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura who was declared fit on Sunday.

Australia are competing in the finals for only the second time while Japan are in their third consecutive finals.

Australia: Schwarzer, Neill, Moore, Culina, Wilkshire, Emerton, Grella, Bresciano, Chipperfield, Kewell, Viduka.

Japan: Kawaguchi, Komano, Miyamoto, Santos, Tsuboi, Nakazawa, Fukunishi, Hidetoshi Nakata, Nakamura, Takahara, Yanagisawa.