Tim Cahill made history in dramatic style, scoring Australia's first goals in a World Cup finals, with two goals in the last six minutes to lead his team to a 3-1 win over Japan in their Group F opener.
A disputed goal from Shunsuke Nakamura had given Japan a 26th-minute advantage, his cross floating over keeper Mark Schwarzer who seemed to have been impeded by Atsushi Yanagisawa as he came to punch clear.
Egyptian referee Esam Abd El Fatah waved away furious protests from Australia.
But Cahill levelled in the 84th minute when a long throw was missed by goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi and he drilled the ball in from eight metres.
The Everton midfielder then made it 2-1 five minutes later with a long-range drive going in off the post.
To complete Japan's misery, substitute John Aloisi added a third goal in injury time.
