Wobbly Performance Gets Australia Through

Australia were sloppy at times, panic stricken near the death and at the mercy of one of the worst refereeing performances in the history of the World Cup, but have snuck through to the second round thanks to a comeback 2-2 draw against Croatia.

There were no architects of the result, no supremos in the Australian team, just a committed group of players who kept grinding away at the twice-taken lead of the Croatian outfit. Craig Moore and Lucas Neill were again large at the back, the senior partner rounding out his solid evening with an late goal-saving clearance from inside the six yard box. Harry Kewell found his shooting boots at last, scoring the late equaliser to send us through. Guus Hiddink erred in starting Zeljko Kalac in goals, the big man spilling a cross before making a horrible misjudgement to let in the second Croatian goal. Hiddink made up for his and Kalac's mistakes with a perfect choice of substitutes. On came John Aloisi, whose presence around the box lifted pressure from a fading Mark Viduka. The introduction of Marco Bresciano fixed one of our biggest problems on the night, the delivery of set-pieces. Bresciano's silky corners and crossing wrecked havoc, dramatically improving the likelihood of Australia grabbing a goal. Joshua Kennedy made an impact too. All of a sudden, high balls sent into the box from deep in defence became the norm. For a long while the ploy didn't work, as Croatia dealt with the flighted attacks effortlessly. Then suddenly, Kewell snuck in behind Kennedy's tall frame to receive Aloisi's headed flick on, taking a fabulous touch to create a volley that he dutifully hammered into the far corner.

The defensive might of Italy awaits in the second round. Following its impressive attacking performances in the World Cup, Australia has every reason to enter the match full of confidence. It will be important for Hiddink to tone down the premature celebrations of the players and re-focus their energies on the latter stages. The world's top teams treat the group stages as a mere formality on the march to the knockout phase, a mentality we ought to embrace if we wish to capitalise on the talents of this golden generation and progress further.