My initial reaction to the Australia win!

That Australia-Japan match was one of the most incredible turnarounds I've ever seen. Not just in soccer, I mean in any sport, any thing that I can think of. It just astounds me to consider that with 10 minutes to go, our World Cup hopes (i.e. progressing to the next round) were dashed. The astutest of astute managers, Mr. Guus Hiddink, had rang in all our three changes, thrown the dice and it appeared as though our window of opportunity had closed. Then, out of the blue, our domination of the game, the possession and the scoring chances finally paid dividends.

"Timmy" Cahill bolted the equaliser after snatching up a blocked Kewell effort. We were in front after Lucas Neill's seemingly innocent long throw started it (which I think is an awesome offensive ploy to use too after seeing John Arne Riise play, by the way). Five minutes later, Cahill found space at the edge of the box and fired us into the lead, ringing the ball off both posts and in. John Aloisi capped it off in extra time and I simply conceded that this was beyond belief. 3-1. Jimeoin once did a great bit about not raising your eyebrows too early to leave room for more surprising news to come through. This was the most relevant example I've encountered.

I'd been sending a few SMS messages around already, but as each goal came in, my phone would too! After the first Socceroo goal, I'd sent a "Give us a second Socceroo goal" message to Ben Hon, who replied with "Just happened" as my wish came true momentarily after. Whoa. 'Twas a Keanu moment.

I must pay homage to Hiddink one more time. I don't agree with his starting lineup, but the display of courage to throw the subs in early enough (and the right men too: Cahill, Kennedy and Aloisi) and to maintain composure and belief in his gameplan deserves to be applauded. He would have copped it if we lost on such a cheap Japanese goal, but he manufactured a result.

I enjoyed hearing the Australians in the crowd too (Frankie among them!!), particularly getting into the Japanese fakers. It was pleasing to see the Australians playing hard football and getting on with the game without fake injuries. That's what they're there for, right? I guess it's also a testament to the fitness of the Socceroos too.

Now the commentators are talking about all manner of scenarios: our approach to the Brazil game, the yellow cards we picked up, tinkering with the starting lineup - all of which seemed dead minutes beforehand. The re-awakening of our hopes was so visible. I hope these zombified hopes can live on a little longer.