World Cup 2006 Groups: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H

Group F Team Profiles: Brazil | Croatia | Australia | Japan

Group F

 Brazil
 Croatia
 Australia
 Japan

Group F Matches

Match # Date & Time Group Teams Result Venue
12 Mon 12th Jun 15:00 F  AUS  JPN 3 - 1 Kaiserslautern
11 Tue 13th Jun 21:00 F  BRA  CRO 1 - 0 Berlin
28 Sun 18th Jun 15:00 F  JPN  CRO 0 - 0 Nuremberg
27 Sun 18th Jun 18:00 F  BRA  AUS 2 - 0 Munich
43 Thu 22nd Jun 21:00 F  JPN  BRA 1 - 4 Dortmund
44 Thu 22nd Jun 21:00 F  CRO  AUS 2 - 2 Stuttgart

Match times shown are local times for Germany (CEST/GMT+0200). Click on match date/time to view match statistics.

Current World Cup holders and five-times champions Brazil will be favourites to win Group F, and many are already predicting them to win again in 2006. Impressive as they are, Brazil are not invincible, though it often seems that way, and each of their Group F opponents has matched them at one time or another. Even so, Brazil should make it to the second round with ease.

Japan have modelled their brand of neat, skillful, possession football after the Brazilians, and on their day are a very capable team. Led by coach and ex-Brazilian legend Zico, they will be looking to prove that their second round appearance in 2002 was due to more than just home advantage.

Australia's qualification was a significant achievement, and sees them making only their second World Cup finals appearance - their last appearance was in 1974, coincidently also in Germany. Unlikely to progress from the group stage, Australia will nevertheless relish this opportunity to play on the world stage.

Croatia are a talented and hard-to-beat team, and possible contenders for a place in the second round. The Croatian squad includes several Australian-born players of Croatian descent, and their head-to-head match with Australia in Group F promises to be a closely contested affair.