AUSTRALIA has recorded one of the biggest wins in its history - and in the process notched up one of world soccer's biggest upsets - in beating France at the Confederations Cup, in Korea.
Striker CLAYTON ZANE scored the game's only goal just short of the hour mark, as the LG Socceroos raced to the top of Group A action, undefeated after two games.
Literally a game of two halves, Australia defended for most of the first half, but turned the tables in the second, with an onslaught which seemed to surprise the opposition.
The best chance of the opening 45 minutes fell to French captain Frank Lebeouf, who headed wide with an open goal in front of him, from a Laurent Robert free-kick.
LG Socceroo midfielder BRETT EMERTON was unlucky not to open the scoring in the second half, his shot in the 51st minute from a Zane lay-off leaving French keeper Gregory Coupet beaten, but the shot agonisingly wide of the mark.
Eight minutes later, Lebeouf earned his first yellow card of the game, bringing down Steve Corica ten metres out from the box, after the midfielder had cut through the French defence.
JOSIP SKOKO took the free-kick, beating the wall and forcing the keeper into a diving save, the ball tipped onto the left post and rebounding back into play, directly into the path of Zane, who calmly slotted the ball away for 1-0 Australia.
The 75th minute mark almost saw another goal to the LG Socceroos, Emerton earning a free kick, with STAN LAZARIDIS' shot inches over the bar, while three minutes later, Lebeouf was handed his second yellow card after a late tackle on Zane, the French captain dismissed from the field.
France had the opportunity to equalise in the 87th minute, but Australian goalkeeper MARK SCHWARZER pulled off a sensational save, denying a Robert header which was all but in, the LG Socceroos finishing the game 1-0 victors.
FRANK FARINA - Post Match Interview:
Q : Frank, obviously a brilliant result.
A : I don't think brilliant is the best word we could find! No, I'm very
happy - the most pleasing aspect of the game was the manner in which we
played, disciplined, technical, we were on another planet and the boys
did extremely well. We held our shape, we broke forward, and we closed
everything down and they couldn't find a way through.
Q : In all honesty, did you go into this game thinking you could win it?
A : No, not at all. It was one of those situations where I honestly thought
it would come down to the last game against Korea, I thought when we came
into the tournament, we'd try to get a result against Mexico, we weren't
counting on anything from the game against France, then try to get a result
against Korea, so no, we weren't really expecting anything from this game
- the confidence was there, but you can never go in against the World and
European champions and be confident you're going to win, that's the reality
of it.
Q : What was going through your mind when the goal went in?
A : I think the whole of the second half we were quite dominant, and I know
at this level, at some stage, you're going to get an opportunity. Steve
Corica made a great run through the middle, the foul was there, Josip Skoko
took the kick, Clayton Zane scored the goal, when it went in, it was nice,
put it that way.
Q : Australia is leading the group, which is probably not where you
xpected to be at the moment - so what's the mind set now?
A : I think it's rest and rehabilitation for the players. While it's not
guaranteed, we're in a good position to go through to the next round, a
point from the next game will see us finish first. But the most important
thing is to get players recharged and ready to go for hopefully the semi
finals - and in the meantime, you can expect a number of changes for the
next game.
Note: STAN LAZARIDIS will miss Australia's final group game against Korea, after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament tonight.