Bulls Abroad: Cahill scores but Australia falls

A few hours before Australia was set to take on Chile, the Netherlands were getting revenge on Spain for the 2010 World Cup final by beating the reigning World Cup and European champions 5-1. It felt like anything could happen in the Australia-Chile match, but then there was the first fifteen minutes. The Socceroos gave up two goals within minutes of each other (12th and 14th minutes) and found themselves in a 2-0 hole. The Chilean contingent in the stands were rocking, and it looked like Australia would be played out of the World Cup in their first game. Then, Tim Cahill got on the end of a cross and did what he does best, rise above defenders and put his head on the ball.

The rest of the first half saw Chile on their heels, but managing to hold off the men in gold and head to the locker room with a 2-1 lead. When the teams came out in the second half, Chile and Australia seemed comfortable trading possession in the second half, but with Australia getting the better chances. It wasn't meant to be for the Socceroos though, as Chile netted their third two minutes into stoppage time, leaving no chance for a comeback.

Next up for Cahill and Australia are the Netherlands (1-0-0, +4 GD) on June 18th at 12:00 pm Eastern on ESPN.