Socceroos bounce back to claim 3-1 victory over Japan

Tim Cahill scored twice in the last six minutes and John Aloisi added a third in injury time as Australia made a winning return to the World Cup finals with a 3-1 victory over Japan.

Everton midfielder Cahill came off the bench to score in the 84th and 89th minutes to overhaul a one-goal deficit after Japan had taken the lead following an error by Mark Schwarzer in the first half at Kaiserslautern's Fritz-Walter Stadium.

Aloisi then rounded off the victory in the Group F opener - Australia's first ever at the World Cup - 32 years after the nation's only previous appearance at the finals, also on German soil in 1974.

A goalkeeping error from Schwarzer handed Japan a 1-0 lead at half-time as Shunsuke Nakamura's goal separated the teams at the interval.

The Celtic midfielder clipped his left-footed cross into the six-yard box from the right and, as Schwarzer came to collect through a gaggle of players from both teams, he mis-read the flight of the ball and it sailed over everyone before bouncing over the line.