As an Australian, my most iconic football memory was Tim Cahill's first goal against Japan in the 2006 tournament. Australia had gone down 1-0 in the first half due to a controversial refereeing decision, and as it approached the 84th minute we were looking like losing our first game. Sitting in my living room, late at night, with failure quickly looking more likely, a Lucas Neill throw in resulted in a tussle in the box. As the ball moved around at the players feet, and Japan failed to clear, Timmy Cahill placed it through two legs and past an outstretched Japanese defender to score Australia's first ever World Cup Final's goal. I went from being heartbroken to having a feeling of indescribable joy rush through my body, as Timmy punched the corner flag and the team celebrated.
The next eight minutes can only be described as a blur, as we not only went on to score again through another Tim Cahill bullet, but sealed the victory in injury time through John Aloisi.