Keep in mind Japan is coached by a Brazilian legend (Zico), Australia knocked out mighty Uruguay, and Croatia is one of Europe's powerhouses these days...
200411
It's not as easy as you might think. I think Japan is the best Asian team in the World Cup and has a strong midfield which contains the 2 -time Asain player of the year \nHidetoshi Nakata(Bolton)and Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura.\nThey also have Mitsuo Oqasawara as a set-piece master. Forwards like Yanagisawa and Takahura will also cause problems for the other defenses.Australia is also a very strong team with Liverpool's star midfielder Harry Kewell,\nEverton's own Tim Cahill, and Boro's striker Viduka and goalkeeper Schwarzer. The also have young talent in Craig Moore on defense.And don't count out Croatia with Dado Prso running up top. This might actually be one of the toughest groups!!!
568410
Amazing Australia... come to think of it, it's not really that amazing anymore when one consider the phenomenal successes achieved by AUSTRALIANS in sports... it's in their national psyche to be AWESOME in anything they do. Very well done mates.... Go Socceroos!!!
627207
Hello there Hamsterboy,\n\nAll the opinions are flowing...mine too...lol...on the performance of the Brazilian team. Some are saying it was all tactical and they were holding back, some say they do not want injuries to impede them ( but who does).  \nFor me, they were less than dynamic and less than impressive. I don't know what the problem was, maybe they were over confident and took Croatia a little for granted which put them on the back foot against a team that played very well. Croatia impressed me. A bit of polish on their finishing of shots will see them threaten a lot of teams in time to come. Ronaldo has problems, that is obvious but the lack lustre performance was not his problem alone. They did enough to win and whether that was a tactical decision or not we will have to wait and see, but if they are going to win that form and performance will not see it happen a 6th time. They made themselves look over rated today or perhaps Croatia did. Guess it's a waiting game now. I'm really excited to see how my team Australia goes against Brazil now. I can't wait for that game.
597370
France is an excellent team, and they have excellent players, Viera,  Henry. Makelele, Zidane. In the beginning I think there were trouble among the players, but that stopped and they are playing as a team. Brazil has to be aggressive but very careful
187095
Brazil will be the first to qualify.. if Japan show the same class they showed in 2002, then it will be a good fight with croatia for second place.. Aussie fans, i am sorry, not strong enough to move to the next round..
573587
i think japan and brazil might qualify for the group stage. then again, australia is the underdog... and they seem pretty good this time around. in the friendly between netherlands and australia, they drew. thats not bad, dont u think?\n\nbut it'd be fun to see japan in the finals. imagine if brazil didn't qualify... that'd be the joke of the centuary. *have to be honest, i wouldnt mind seeing that happen*
633130
Firstly from an Aussie thank you for your congratulations and wishes. That is really nice. Now I don't know why you nearly or otherwise felt sorry for Japan, I certainly didn't. They were very nasty and negative verbally toward our boys prior to the tournament and match. They were the more aggressive party and some of their tactics left a lot to be desired also. So I don't feel sorry for them at all and the correct score should have been 3-0 Australia. \n\nI hope they beat Croatia, I believe they have an excellent chance and that isn't an offence to Croatia, but Australia put together a strong finish and their fitness stood out toward the end. That must come into consideration V's Brazil too. That's going to be a hard match for the boys but they can compete if they are in the right frame of mind. Looking forward to that match.
667930
I think Australia has been treated unfairly throughout the tournament. In the match against Japan the Japanese pushed the goalie and it was still counted as a goal. The match against Brazil, both of Brazil's goals were OFFSIDE, and that penalty given to Italy dont even get me started.....I think FIFA should take a look at the referees
266122
argentina had a tough draw last time out(the group of death),but this time brazil have a relatively easier draw than what argentina had and they should make short work of australia and co
676632
i dont think brazil are playing at their best, but i think all the lower ranked teams are having a real go in this world cup. aus played quite well but we all now that brazils defence isn't the best in the world. i think offensively brazil havn't been at their best but this maybe just because they havn't played any big teams.  i think when they play some of the bigger teams such as england, italy germany etc uboth teams will go out there to score goals. the 2 teams brazil have played so far have been quite defensive so its been quite difficult for brazil. i think wither argentina or spain will win it tho
188267
The best players are in Brazil team. But for them it is almost impossible to win in Europe. Hence, the best chances in my opinion have Germany as a host and Italy which has very good and ambitious squad.
665369
The Czechs can be a big suprise here. A nice mixture of younsters such as Baros, Rosicky, Grygera and experice players like Nedved, Koller, Poborsky. I think they would be a huge threat to Brazil.
676976
Brazil and Australia will advance.
172590
It's possible as it's almost always possible for a team to win in a cup competition.  They're in the wonderfully named "group of death" along with Argentina, the Ivory Coast, and Serbia and Montenegro. I think they'll definitely win against S&M, however the other two will be tougher matches.  However the IC is also a young team and I think that the more experience might favor holland(IC lost the ACN on penalties).  If Holland can make it out of the group stages I think they have a definite chance of winning.  That isn't to say that their squad is say, better than brazil's, however they might not even have to play brazil to still win the cup so I'd say it's definitely possible, but the biggest task will be coming out ahead in their group.
199325
I hope they go all the way, but Brazil is a powerhouse. Forza Azzuri! Speriamo che vinceranno!!!
628117
Nah. There always seems to be a surprise packet every World Cup. In 2002 it was South Korea, while 1998 had Croatia. Will there be one this time and who? We'll know by July.
602918
When I replay some of the possessions Japan had, they definitely did not quite push the ball as they should have in the second half. They made runs, but didn't feel a sense of any urgency with an Australian team that is very unpredictable. They should have scored one more goal prior to the 80th minute to shatter Australia's hopes. If you watch any other team up with a 1 - 0 lead, they impose their will or at least attempt to. Japan sensed the game got slow, and they didn't feel the Australian attack coming on, so they just settled on responding rather than making Australia have to continue to respond. It was mainly inexperience and inability to handle 4 strikers. I attribute this to the tactful advantage Australia has with their coach. As good at coaching as Zico is, he is definitely inferior to the tact of Australia's Hiddink. Zico should have crowded the midfield rather than substitute for a striker again.  \nI think the main thing to take away from this match is not anything about Japan. I do not think they had a real chance anyway (check my answers on questions...What do you think of Japan). Hiddink merely proved why he is a genius again and gave us a reason to be confident in Australia and have hopes for them. He took Korea and Holland to the quarters or beyond in the last two Cups and now seems very promising to make Australia the dark horse of the tournament. As for Japan, they should not be satisfied with a goal or a lead only. They have to make sure they keep setting goals for themselves a little at a time, because that's the only way they succeed. They are not really favorites, so can't be lax...it may already be too late...I certainly think it is.