Take a bow, Australia - you were bloody marvellous! We don't fear anyone any more. We took on the world champions and matched them. No-one could have failed to be impressed by the tough Aussie assault on the South Americans.

For the first 45 minutes we were easily the equal of Brazil, holding them when they attacked and constantly putting them on the backfoot by counter attacking beautifully.

We played the first half perfectly. Short of scoring a goal, we couldn't have asked for any more from the team. They held their shape, closed down Braziiians on the ball and marked tightly.

When Tony Popovic was forced off with a calf injury, Guus Hiddink showed the shape of things to come by replacing the crocked defender with attacking midfielder Marco Bresciano.

Immediately we looked more dangerous and repeatedly worried the Brazilian defence but without reward.

In the second half, Brazil came out after obviously getting a rocket up their arse from coach Carlos Alberto Perreira. Ronaldo in particular was clearly told he was on a final warning to keep his first team place.

But while the Aussies were still settling into the second half of the game, the Brazilians came at them with all guns blazing. A deft touch from Ronaldo set up Adriano who knocked it home just four minutes after the restart.

For those few opening minutes, we had lost concentration and paid the penalty.

Despite the setback, the Aussies never rolled over. Brazil were always much much weaker when the Aussies were attacking. So we did. A lot. And it paid off, with chance after chance being created, but fate joined Brazil's Dida in goal at Munich and kept the ball out.

Tim Cahill's replacement by Harry Kewell was a controversial move. Some may have left Cahill on the field and replaced Mile Sterjowski or Mark Viduka and put Kewell on the wing or upfront.

But Kewell was straight into the action and had a chance with seconds of arriving on the field but couldn't convert. He had another opportunity where it would have been easier to score, but sadly fluffed it.

Bresciano constantly tested the Brazilian keeper but luck just wasn't with him. Every time he had the ball within shooting range, your heart was in your mouth.

Brett Emerton was tireless throughout the game, providing vital support in defence one minute then feeding the ball forward from midfield the next.

At the back Lucas Neill and Craig Moore were absolute rock solid despite conceding the first goal. Neill was as good as any defender in the competition and Moore provided excellent support on the back line.

But then Aussie Guus Hiddink may have taken a gamble too far. By 68 minutes we had Brazil pinned back. Our defence was looking solid after the opening blunder and we were creating more chances for ourselves than Brazil could cope with. All we needed was a bit of luck for one to finish in the back of the net.

Guus wanted more. He wanted Australian goals. And he was willing to sacrifice the defence once again to get them.

You have to admire the b*ll*cks of the bloke. His team are ranked 40-odd in the world and they're matching the world champions, the number one team in the world.

But Guus still reckoned we could beat them. So he pulled off Craig Moore and replaced him with John Aloisi. Of the three defenders we started the game with, we now only had Neill left.

One pure defender against the might of Brazil. Now that takes ticker...

For sheer bravado, that move is unbeatable. I wouldn't even be brave enough do that in a computer game simulation, never mind the real World Cup.

If the move had come off, he would have been hailed an absolute deadset genius. As it was though, it left us hopelessly stretched at the back.

While we were going forward, we were always dangerous with an awesome strike force upfront.

But whenever we lost the ball, we were in trouble. With tired legs setting in, the Aussies were struggling to get back as quickly as they needed to when Brazil countered.

When the fresh legs of Brazil substitute Fred got the ball for a simple tap in, the goal was almost an inevitability.

We never laid down and died, but the second goal sealed the Aussies' fate in this match. Even when the final whistle sounded, the Aussies were still fighting.

Kewell rushed at referee Markus Merk to argue the odds over the way the game was handled, and Scott Chipperfield shocked Roberto Carlos by refusing his offer to swap shirts.

The boys may have been beaten but they went out with their heads held high. Few teams could have played that match better.

For once though, Guus's death or glory tactics might just have been a sub too many. With Moore on the pitch, we would almost certainly have held the 1-0 scoreline and stood a chance of an equaliser.

However the 2-0 scoreline wipes out the winning margin we had against Japan. But unless Japan beats Brazil by 2-0 or better, goal difference is unlikely to make a difference to second place in the group.

As it is, just a draw again Croatia will see Australia promoted to the final 16. And on the basis of Croatia's disheartened draw against Japan, that looks more than possible.

The second stage of the World Cup is within our reach. We can almost taste it. We might have lost to Brazil, but we lost to the very best. We have every chance of going on to even greater glory now.

The whole nation should be proud of a brave and gutsy Australian performance...and you can be damn sure the game on Friday morning will be an absolute cracker with the battling Aussies giving it their all to get that place in the last 16.