• An hour after this thunderous encounter was finally put to bed by Fred’s cruel late goal, thousands of Australian fans remained slumped in their seats as if unable to comprehend how their team had left the field with nothing but platitudes. They were not the only ones. For most of the second-half Australia outworked the world champions and, on occasion, outplayed them too. – Sean Ingle, The Guardian

  • Goals by Adriano and Fred saw Brazil reach the second round of the World Cup finals for the ninth time after an unconvincing display against a spirited Australia side. The five-time champions have not been eliminated in the first stage since the 1966 tournament in England. But the men from Down Under came close to turning the football world upside down with a battling display against Brazil who were helped by
    some generous refereeing by Markus Merk. Many neutrals thought Australia deserved a draw and the 2-0 scoreline flattered Brazil who struggled against Guus Hiddink’s well-organised side. – Christopher Davies,The Telegraph

  • The score may have ended 2-0. But Australia was able to control the match for long stretches and created plenty of chances. In the end, Brazil’s firepower proved decisive. And judging from their performance against Brazil, the Australians would
    be a good bet to get past Croatia. Far from playing dead, the team from Down Under never gave up and often dominated play for long stretches, created a handful of excellent chances, and even had more shots on goal than the Brazilians in the first half.
    – Der Spiegel

  • It took a 49th-minute goal from Adriano to break the Australian defense after a scoreless first half, but the champions never looked in control as enterprising Australia threw everything at them. Substitute Fred had a simple tap in for Brazil’s second on fulltime, two minutes after he came on, to wrap up the victory after a shot by substitute Robinho struck the post. Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said his side had deserved the three points, though, his view seemed somewhat rose-tinted… But the Australians earned admirers in the way they pushed the Brazilians all the way with German referee Markus Merk not giving them much with his officiating. – Japan Today
  • Brazil briefly yesterday unveiled the baby-rocking goal celebration famously pioneered by Bebeto back in 1994. But in that, and that alone, did they resemble a team of world champions. For a second time in this World Cup, the famous samba drumbeat that follows them has been silenced and yesterday it was Waltzing Matilda that filled the void. The old chorus was finally silenced by Brazil’s second goal, in the
    final minute, that nailed the upstart Antipodeans to defeat, but Australia rarely looked like a team ranked 44th in the world playing against the World Cup favourites. – Owen Slot, The Times

  • The frustration and disappointment after the match in Munich belonged to the Australians, who hardly deserved their 2-0 defeat. – Paul Fletcher, BBC Sport World Cup blog