Magnificent Socceroos edged out by Brazil

Australia produced a wonderful performance against the world champions but still fell short 2-0 in a truly competitive match which showed the immense progress the Socceroos have made since the appointment of Guus Hiddink.

Second half goals from Adriano and Fred sealed qualification from Group F for Brazil, but following the goalless draw between Croatia and Japan a point for Australia in their final match will almost certainly see them historically through to the second round.

The pre match talk surrounded the yellow card situation of Australia who had four players one booking away from suspension, Moore, Bresciano, Cahill and Grella desperately needing to stay out of trouble in order to face Croatia in the final encounter of the group stage.

Carlos Alberto Parreira named an unchanged side despite the widespread criticism of their narrow victory against Croatia while Hiddink made three changes, dropping Kewell, Bresciano and Wilkshire to the bench in favour of Sterjovski, Popovic and the hero of the last match Cahill.

And the anticipated sumptuous feast of football didn't take long to arrive.

The dangerous Kaka found Ronaldo who cleverly flicked the ball over his head into the path of the Milan man to volley menacingly wide of Schwarzer's post and give Australia an early reminder of who they were facing.

But the Socceroos were full of confidence themselves after that stunning comeback win over Japan and after being teed up by Sterjovski, Viduka fired a long a range effort straight at Dida to give Brazil a reminder of their own.

After Vince Grella fortuitously avoided a costly yellow card for a wild lunge on Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos blasted a trademark free-kick high and wide of a relieved Schwarzer's upright.

Perhaps a better example of the threat posed by the world champions didn't result in a shot, a mesmerising run by Ronaldinho past two Australians stopped by a brilliant tackle by the hugely impressive Lucas Neill.

The Aussies were undoubtedly playing some football worthy of the South American giants at times and after a measured passing move the ball broke to Culina, however again the strike from range failed to truly test the keeper.

Craig Moore produced another excellent challenge to deny Ronaldo in the box after a magical Ronaldinho flick over the top but with half an hour elapsed the first signs of Brazilian frustration began to surface, Cafu booked for a dangerous challenge on Cahill.

Ronaldo had been rightly berated in the media for a truly lacklustre display against the Croats and an indication of his rustiness came when he failed to even make contact with a very inviting chance set up by Kaka.

Tony Popovic had been struggling to overcome a calf problem in the build up to the game and after 40 minutes he signalled to the bench he could continue no longer, Marco Bresciano coming on as Australia re-shuffled their line up before halftime to draw comparisons with that famous qualifier against Uruguay.

Brazil were intent on taking a lead to the interval and the heavily criticised strike duo of Adriano and Ronaldo combined well to set up the latter for a strike from distance, the ball fizzing past the post as the no. 9 began to show glimpses of his brilliant former self.

With the last move of the first half Culina fed Bresciano on the left of the opposing area who cut back inside before unleashing a terrific effort just over the bar as the impressive Socceroos left the field with applause from even some South American supporters.

However the interval appeared to disrupt the concentration of Australia and four minutes into the second stanza their illustrious opponents managed to take the lead.

Ronaldinho intelligently found Ronaldo who drew his marker well before squaring for Adriano, the Inter Milan hit man taking two touches to create space before drilling his low shot beyond a despairing Schwarzer.

The goal clearly illustrated why the Selecao are so highly regarded in world football, and the Socceroos would have to maintain the composure of a fantastic first period if they were to repeat their heroic comeback against Japan.

And the chance to equalise didn't take long to eventuate as Bresciano broke the offside trap near the halfway line but with only space between him and the goalkeeper he simply couldn't find the requisite pace, and the recovering Brazilian defenders saved Dida from having to make the save.

Aussie fans were then delighted to see Harry Kewell introduced from the bench in place of Cahill and he had the chance to make an instant impression after Dida inexplicably dropped a high ball, but with the Brazilian goal wide open the former Leeds superstar only managed to clear the bar with his first touch.

Kewell was certainly making an impact against a Brazil side struggling to find their rhythm and from a Viduka flick on he audaciously tried to beat Dida from 35 yards only to see his attempt fly narrowly over.

Hiddink then made another typically adventurous change bringing in Aloisi for the infallible Craig Moore and the spaces inevitably began to arise, Kaka's surging run and shot testing the keeper yet again.

The Australian commitment to attack despite the opposition was admirable but after Robinho entered the fray for Ronaldo he got on the end of a Cafu cross to flick frustratingly over as Brazil looked to settle a match in which they'd been far from dominant.

If Bresciano's next effort succeeded it would've surely been remembered as the greatest moment in Australian football history, however his acrobatic volley from the edge of the area was met with equal athleticism from the AC Milan stopper who clawed the ball to safety.

The millions watching back in Australia knew their boys would need an element of luck to get a result against the five time World Cup winners and an example duly arrived as Kaka's header from a corner crashed against the bar and away.

Viduka then had two chances to seal another memorable comeback as firstly a glancing header from Bresciano's free-kick drifted wide before an Aloisi nod on found him in space, the Middlesbrough marksman's attempted lob falling agonisingly on the roof of the net rather than the back of it.

However such an attacking mindset was always likely to be punished by some of the world's greatest players and when the substitute Fred played in Robinho his fierce shot beat Schwarzer but rebounded off the post, leaving the Lyon man with the simplest of tasks to walk the ball into the net for a truly undeserved Brazilian second.

Kaka even had the luxury of side footing wide when a third seemed certain in the latter stages but by then the result was in no doubt, the unconvincing Brazilians triumphing by a flattering score of 2-0 to seal qualification for the knockout stages a fixture early.

Australia will have every reason to feel confident ahead of the vital match with Croatia, and after matching the world's best in every sense the Socceroos under Hiddink might just have the ability to cause a few more upsets in this historic tournament.

BRAZIL: Dida; Cafu (captain), Lucio, Roberto Carlos, Juan; Emerson (Gilberto Silva, 72min), Ze Roberto, Kaka, Ronaldinho; Adriano (Fred, 88min), Ronaldo (Robinho, 72min).

AUSTRALIA: Mark Schwarzer; Lucas Neill, Craig Moore (John Aloisi, 69min), Tony Popovic (Marco Bresciano, 41min), Scott Chipperfield, Vince Grella; Jason Culina, Brett Emerton, Tim Cahill (Harry Kewell, 56min), Mile Sterjovski; Mark Viduka (captain).

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