Brazil beat Croatia to set a World Cup record, becoming the first team to win eight successive matches in the finals.
Kaka's beautifully-struck goal gave World Cup holders and hot favourites Brazil a 1-0 win over Croatia in their Group F opener in Berlin on Tuesday night.
The five-times champions failed to live up to their star billing in the Olympiastadion, with a chubby Ronaldo putting in a particularly poor performance.
Roberto Carlos went close in the 15th minute from far out, but goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa was able to tip over before then performing more heroics to turn aside a Ronaldinho effort that was heading for the bottom corner.
But Croatia responded by carving out a couple of chances with both Niko Kranjcar and Ivan Klasnic getting a sight of goal.
Their chances were not helped when skipper Niko Kovac had to be replaced by Jerko Leko late in the first half after picking up a couple of blows to the ribs.
And a minute before half-time, Kaka raised the roof by breaking the deadlock with a brilliant goal.
Picking the ball up from Cafu, the AC Milan star drifted away from Kranjcar before curling a delicious shot into the top corner of the net.
The Croats appeared more adventurous after the break and both Dado Prso and Klasnic tested Dida in the Brazilian goal.
Finally Ronaldo got himself into the action after Kaka had dragged the Croatia defence out of position, and he delivered a vicious dipping shot from 25 yards that only just cleared the crossbar.
Ronaldinho came close to grabbing a second for Brazil with a bullet header from Cafu's searching cross, only for Pletikosa to pull off a reaction save.
Ronaldo cut a forlorn figure on 69 minutes as he was replaced by Robinho.
Marko Babic was left cursing after he wriggled free of his marker and slammed a low shot from 18 yards straight at Dida.
drunken_master
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has been impressed with Australia's performance against Japan and has tipped them to beat Brazil.
Australia scored three goals in the last eight minutes to silence Japan and their approach to the game won over the Swede.
"I didn't actually see the Australia game because we were either training or travelling, but I heard that they played very well," said Eriksson.
"Can they beat Brazil? Yes, why not. You have to believe it."
Australia take on the defending champions on Sunday in a highly anticipated clash following Brazil's less-than-convincing opening 1-0 win over Croatia.
Despite being ranked 42nd in the world, Australia can take heart that they've beaten Brazil 1-0 in the 2001 Confederations Cup in Korea and played to a goalless draw in the 1997 Confederations Cup in Riyadh.
The Aussies go into the game with four players on yellow cards - midfielder Vince Grella, defender Craig Moore, two-goal hero Tim Cahill and striker John Aloisi, who got the third goal.
Eriksson said he would play them despite the risk that another yellow could rule them out of their third match against Croatia.
"If I had already won the group after two games then no, but now yes. But that is Hiddink's problem," he said.
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Brazil’s star striker Ronaldo was taken to hospital in Frankfurt after feeling unwell at the World Cup, but medical tests showed nothing wrong with him, the Brazil Football Confederation (CBF) said.
The CBF said on its website that the 29-year-old Real Madrid player started feeling unwell on Wednesday evening after the Brazilians had returned to their Konigstein base following the 1-0 win over Croatia in Berlin.
The Brazilian medical team whisked him off to a Frankfurt hospital, but he returned to join the squad after medical tests cleared him and he was expected to train normally on Thursday.
Ronaldo was the star of the last World Cup in Japan and South Korea, scoring both Brazilian goals in the 2-0 win over Germany in the final.
But his form has slumped over the last year as he has struggled with weight problems and he is expected to leave Madrid during the close season.
He was widely criticised for his lacklustre performance against the Croatians on Tuesday.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, however, has said he intended to play him in the Brazilians’ next game against Australia on Sunday.
The Brazilian famously played in the 1998 World Cup final in Paris against France despite being taken mysteriously taken ill shortly before the kick-off. France went on to dethrone the Brazilians with a 3-0 victory.
Ronaldo needs just one goal to equal Pele as Brazil's top all-time World Cup goalscorer.
drunken_master
Brazil were far from their brilliant best but they still proved too strong for Australia, recording a 2-0 win that ensures their qualification for the next round.
The South Americans took 49 minutes to break through before Adriano found the net and a late tap-in for substitute Fred sealed victory for the World Cup favourites.
Brazil were slow into their stride but Kaka produced a volley from a neat touch by Ronaldo and there were some angry looks when their number nine went down after a poor challenge from Vince Grella and displayed the marks of the tackle to the referee.
Mark Viduka, leading the line stoutly for Australia, brought Dida into action with a long-range attempt and the keeper also denied a speculative effort from Jason Culina.
The world champions were not at their best, Ronaldinho falling over the ball comically inside the box, then Ronaldo swiping at thin air following a defence-splitting pass from Kaka.
Losing defender Tony Popovic to injury failed to diminish the Australians' defensive efforts but Ronaldo shot off target from an Adriano flick and Roberto Carlos was furious that Ronaldo was unable to slip him through on goal, when well placed to gallop forward down the left, as Mark Schwarzer comfortably cut out the intended pass.
Guus Hiddink's side grew in stature and finished the first half well with substitute Mark Bresciano curling a wicked drive just over the bar.
Brazil upped the tempo a little after the interval and shook off their sluggish approach, bringing almost immediate rewards. Four minutes into the second half, Ronaldinho threaded a ball through to Ronaldo, who was just on-side. The Real Madrid striker laid the ball into the path of Adriano, who worked it onto his favoured left foot and drilled a smart finish past Schwarzer.
Only a great tackle from Ze Roberto denied Bresciano when he sprung the off-side trap and Mile Sterjovski lashed over as Australia battled to get back into the game. The best opening fell to Harry Kewell, soon after the Liverpool winger came off the bench. Dida dropped the ball when Roberto Carlos headed high into the air and, when it ran loose, Kewell somehow missed the inviting target.
Kewell took a Viduka flick-on and shot early, dipping an effort over the bar, as Australia continued to press but Brazil showed their intentions when Kaka's stylish run was ended by a Schwarzer save while Adriano and Robinho also spurned openings for the South Americans.
Robinho, who had replaced Ronaldo after another disappointing display from the 2002 Golden Boot winner, forced another parry from Schwarzer as the two sides traded chances. Bresciano's spectacular volley was clawed away by Dida and Viduka headed a Bresciano free kick just past the post. Middlesbrough's Viduka then could only lift the ball onto the roof of the net after John Aloisi headed into the danger area.
Brazil were also finding their thrust in attack with Kaka heading a Ronaldinho corner against the bar and a goal looked like it could arrive at either end.
It came in Brazil's favour, with time running out, as Fred played the ball wide to Robinho and the youngster's shot flew through Schwarzer's poor attempt to save and thudded off a post. Substitute Fred, who plies his trade for Lyon, followed up to gleefully tap in the rebound.
Kaka should have made it 3-0 in the dying seconds but somehow screwed his finish wide of Schwarzer's goal after gliding into the box to seemingly add the final blow.
Australia take the plaudits after a brave performance but Brazil are through, and can only improve on their opening two displays.
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Australia coach Guus Hiddink believes Brazil will have to improve considerably in their coming matches if they are to successfully defend the World Cup.
Hiddink watched his Socceroos give the world's number one team a major fright in their Group F clash on Sunday as Brazil won 2-0 to qualify for the second round.
Victory came thanks to goals in the 49th minute from Adriano and an 89th-minute tap-in from substitute Fred.
However, Australia wasted countless chances to equalise between the Brazilian goals, with Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Marco Bresciano all coming close to scoring.
The result leaves the Australians only needing a point from their final group game against Croatia in Stuttgart on Thursday to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time.
Hiddink claimed his team could take a lot of confidence from the way they performed against Brazil, saying his team had dominated the second half.
"To me Brazil were forced to play on the counter-attack in the second half and that is not what you would have expected against Australia," he said.
"To me that is not the characteristic of a world champion (team)."
Hiddink felt Brazil, who beat Croatia 1-0 in their opening game, were playing well below their best.
"They are definitely not at 100% yet," he said.
"In the second half Australia was able to dominate a team that has so many great players and they were forced to counter-attack.
"They are not playing like world champions yet but they can improve."
Hiddink has plenty of experience against Brazil, having watched his native Holland lose to them in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup in France, and he felt the defending champions were also helped by the refereeing of German official Markus Merk during their win over Australia.
The Australia coach said he felt "most of the 50-50 decisions and even the 60-40 decisions" went in favour of Brazil.
"It wasn't decisive," he said, "but a lot of the time it looked like the big team (getting the free-kicks) over the little team."
VHAMBLIDINHO
Australia made history by twice coming from behind against Croatia to earn the point they needed to claim a place in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup™.
The Socceroos lost all three games in their one previous appearance on the world stage in 1974 but a 2-2 draw with Croatia in Stuttgart was enough to secure second place in Group F and a second-round tie against Italy in Kaiserslautern on 26 June.
Australia finished with four points from three matches, two clear of third-placed Croatia.
On a nervy night, Croatia opened the scoring through Darijo Srna’s second-minute free-kick. Craig Moore drew Australia level from the penalty spot on 38 minutes but the balance swung back Croatia’s way when Niko Kovac’s shot was fumbled by Zeljko Zalac in the 56th minute.
However, Harry Kewell struck the decisive second Australian goal 11 minutes from time.
Stuttgart played host to a night of unforgettable drama, where both sides could have progressed to the second round at different stages, but at the end it was Australia who were celebrating and heading to Kaiserslautern to face Italy on Monday.
VHAMBLIDINHO
Brazil made sure of first place in Group F as they came from behind to beat Japan 4-1 through goals from Ronaldo (2), Juninho Pernambucano and Gilberto in Dortmund on Thursday.
The world champions can now look forward to a Round of 16 meeting with Ghana in Kaiserslautern on 26 June following their third straight victory at Germany 2006. For Japan, this was their second defeat in three matches and left them bottom of the section with one point.
The star of the show was Ronaldo, who scored his 13th and 14th FIFA World Cup goals to move level with German legend Gerd Muller as the tournament's all-time leading scorer. He headed Brazil level in first-half injury time to cancel out Keiji Tamada's fine 34th-minute opener for Japan.
Then, after Juninho Pernambucano (53 minutes) and Gilberto (59’) had struck superb goals to seize control of the match for Brazil, Ronaldo had the final word as he made it 4-1 nine minutes before the end.
Brazil’s samba football finally arrived in Germany in a superb second-half performance that saw Japan dismantled, earning the world champions an intriguing last 16 clash against Ghana.
Japan will fly home disappointed with their Germany 2006 campaign after impressing on home soil four years ago, and Zico's side may well wonder what might have been had they not conceded the equaliser just before half-time.
