The BBC Preview:
Team News:
Mark Viduka should be fit to start for Australia despite a calf injury.
Tim Cahill, just back from a knee injury, will start while Harry Kewell will be on the bench, but neither is ready to play the full 90 minutes.
Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura has been passed fit while strikers Naohiro Takahara and Atsushi Yanagisawa should also start after overcoming knocks.
But winger Akira Kaji is out with an ankle injury he picked up in a 2-2 friendly draw with Germany.
Australia (probable): Schwarzer, Emerton, Neil, Moore, Chipperfield, Grella, Culina, Cahill, Bresciano, Kewell, Viduka
Japan (probable): Kawaguchi, Miyamoto, Nakazawa, Tsuboi, Komano, Nakata, Fukunishi, Nakamura, Alex, Takahara, Yanagisawa
Head-to-heads
Australia have met Japan on 14 previous occasions.
Their record is well-balanced with five wins each and four draws. Japan have won their last three encounters without conceding a single goal.
Team facts - Australia
This is the second World Cup participation for Australia. They made their debut in 1974 in Germany and finished fourth in Group One, losing two and drawing one match (0-2 against East Germany, 0-3 against West Germany and 0-0 with Chile). Australia are therefore yet to score a World Cup goal.
This is the third tournament at which Australia coach Guus Hiddink will be in charge of a team. Previously, he guided both Holland (in 1998) and South Korea (in 2002) to fourth place. Hiddink is only the fourth coach to lead more than two different countries at the World Cup. Record holder Bora Milutinovic masterminded the World Cup campaigns of five different countries.
Team facts - Japan
This marks the third World Cup participation for Japan. In 1998, Japan finished bottom in Group H. In 2002, when they hosted the World Cup together with South Korea, they were knocked out in the second round by Turkey.
Japan are yet to win their opening match of the tournament. In 1998 they were beaten (1-0) by Argentina. Four years later they were held to a 2-2 draw by Belgium.
Player facts - Australia
Midfielder Stan Lazaridis, defender Tony Popovic and goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac are the most capped players in the Australian squad with 59, 56 and 52 caps respectively. John Aloisi is the most prolific scorer in the squad with 23 international goals.
Tim Cahill was Australia's top scorer in World Cup qualification with seven goals.
Player facts - Japan
Goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and Alex are the most capped players in Japan's squad with 89, 74 and 72 caps respectively. Nakata is the only player to have featured in each of Japan's previous seven matches at the World Cup.
Naohiro Takahara and Atsushi Yanagisawa are the most prolific goalscorers for Japan with 17 international goals. Nakata (one) and Junichi Inamoto (two) are the two players from the current squad to have scored in the World Cup finals.
Miscellaneous Info
This match could see FC Basel teammates Koji Nakata (Japan) and Scott Chipperfield and Mile Sterjovksi (Australia) at opposite ends of the pitch.
Australia reserve goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac, together with Jan Koller and Nikola Zigic are the tallest players at the 2006 World Cup with a height of six foot seven and a half inches.