Australia finished top of Group A in Asian World Cup qualifying after beating Japan 2-1 in front of 69,238 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Tim Cahill was the hero for the Socceroos, scoring twice in the second half after Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka had given his side a half-time lead. Cahill's strained relations with the Australian media were apparent in a post-match TV interview that saw him offer a series of vague responses to questioning from host broadcaster Fox Sports. Yet the Everton man remains a hero to Australian fans for his performances on the pitch, and just as in Kaiserslautern three years ago, it was the explosive midfielder who dug the Socceroos out of a hole on a chilly night in Melbourne.

"Socceroo cover-up" reads the June 14 headline of Sydney's widely circulated Sunday Telegraph, with the round ball game earning rare front page coverage from the News Limited mouthpiece. It's not for exploits on the pitch that football is making headlines in Australia, but rather for the allegation that Everton midfielder Tim Cahill was expelled from a Kings Cross nightclub last week for drunk and disorderly behaviour. In an email circulated to media representatives just hours before newspapers hit the press, Football Federation Australia claims to have investigated the incident and found no cause to sanction Cahill.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Tim Cahill saves Australia...again Australian midfielder Tim Cahill reprised his role as a super-sub from the FIFA 2006 World Cup, scoring in stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw against an impressive Oman.

Australia's football hierarchy has reacted to its clubs flagging performances on Asian soil during the Champions League by scrapping plans for a Brisbane-based get-together before the Asian Cup finals in favour of an acclimatisation training camp in Singapore. “The camp in Singapore will give us a good indication of what to expect at the Asian Cup,” declared Socceroos coach Graham Arnold last week. “Acclimatisation will be a key to success at the tournament so training and playing in Singapore will get us in good shape for the conditions that we will face for the tournament."