Letter From Australia:On Friday evening, I was working on the sports desk of my Melbourne newspaper when the copy came through for the Asian Cup finals previews. Among the stories was a claim the soccer rivalry between Australia and Japan would become as big as the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand in rugby union and Australia and England in cricket.

I'd not heard so much scoffing for a long time. One of the desk editors made sure the sub-editor who picked up the copy knew the location of the delete button.

Of course, once all the bravado had settled the story was run in full. Given the events of Saturday evening, it was just as well. The quarter-final between Australia and Japan ended 1-1 before going down to penalties. The match was an epic. The prediction about the rivalry between the countries might come to be regarded as a prescient moment in Australian sport.

The claim was made by John O'Neill, a sports administrator who has a status generally reserved for players or coaches (let that be a comment on sport in this corporate age). O'Neill was once the chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union. Then he became the chief executive of the nation's main soccer body, Football Federation Australia, and played a hand in the successful campaign in the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany, where the Socceroos made the last 16.

A few months ago, having tired of difficult relationships at the soccer body, O'Neill went back to his old post in rugby union. His return to his original code created much clamour. When a man of his standing makes a claim, it receives a lot of press.

O'Neill once worked as a merchant banker. He said the soccer rivalry between Australia and Japan would be strong in part because of the high levels of trade and tourism between the nations.

Japan, with the second largest economy in the world, reportedly funds a large percentage of the Asian soccer economy and contributes plenty to Fifa's coffers. Fox Sports, soccer's broadcaster in Australia for the next five years, is considering whether to tap into the Japanese market by televising J-League matches in Australia. O'Neill says it makes sense for Australia to promote all links between the countries.

For all the talk of money links, the rivalry between Australia and Japan can be sustained only through dramatic contests on the pitch. The countries first met at Melbourne's 1956 Olympics, but not until last year's group match at the World Cup finals did a sense of rivalry began to emerge.

Japan were confident going in then, having won three of the last four Asian Cup finals. They had also established themselves as World Cup finals regulars, while Australia were playing in soccer's biggest tournament for only the second time, having played in 1974. But the Socceroos got late goals from Tim Cahill and John Aloisi to win a pulsating match.

Australia were accepted into the Asian Football Confederation 18 months ago. Their rationale was they wanted better competition than they could expect in the Oceania region. A week ago, their rationale looked to have bitten them on the bum when the Socceroos were in danger of being thrown out of their inaugural Asian Cup finals at the group stage, having achieved a 1-1 draw against Oman and lost 3-1 to a highly skilful and motivated Iraq team.

Australia, stung by deserved criticism at home of their big-headedness, last Monday scored a flurry of late goals to defeat Thailand 4-0 and reach the quarter-finals as runner-up in Group A. The price for finishing second was to play the winner of Group B: Japan. Before the tournament, this was tipped as the likely pairing for the final.

The quarter-final on Saturday evening was worthy of the final. I watched the match, which was played in oppressive heat in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi, in a bar in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick. This bar generally serves as a meeting place for the families of Italian immigrants. Several children and grandchildren of these immigrants waved their green and gold Australian scarfs.

During the second half, as word of the tense encounter filtered through the pizza joints and kebab houses on Brunswick's Sydney Road, punters began to crowd into the bar. We watched with hearts in mouths as both teams dominated in turn. Japan created chances through its scurrying and passing, while Australia created chances through its advantage in strength.

With powerful Australian striker Mark Viduka in one of his switched-on games, it looked likely that the Socceroos would barge the ball into the back of the net. Then, in a surprising move from Australian manager Graham Arnold, perhaps in a concession to the effect on a big man of 38-degree heat, Viduka was taken off on the hour and replaced by Harry Kewell.

The bar erupted in cheers at the sight of Kewell, the Socceroos' talisman. The game became more absorbing by the minute. Kewell was booked for diving, but his charismatic sorties into box had the Japanese defenders in a dither.

The dyke finally broke when a corner kick from Kewell was flicked through a thicket of bodies to Aliosi at the far post. The veteran striker scored on 69 minutes.

Three minutes later, Socceroo Mark Milligan failed to clear from the box. Until then, Milligan's place in the defence had been a fillip to Australia's fledgling national competition, the A-League (readers might detect a theme). But when the Sydney player lashed at the ball and missed, enabling Noahiro Takahara to pounce, viewers wondered whether a defender with European experience (the E-League?) might have been a better choice.

Four minutes later, at the 76th minute mark, the game's defining moment arrived. Rugged midfielder Vince Grella caught Takahara on the jaw with his forearm as they chased the ball. Grella was sent off, to the amazement of the bar and, more so, the commentators, who opined in grave terms that Grella's arm was not swinging and his act was unworthy of a red card.

"Serves you right for being so short," a punter in the bar yelled at Takahara, assuming the striker was of traditional Japanese height. A statistic on screen revealed Takahara to be 189 centimetres, a bit over 6ft 2in. Quiet resumed in the bar.

The match went into extra time, during which the Australian players were dead on their feet. As the final whistle drew near, the Japanese were also exhausted. Chances came and went. Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer cleared off the line with his left mitt in the final minute.

To the astonishment of all, Kewell and Lucas Neill, the captain, who is with West Ham, missed Australia's opening penalties when Japanese goalkeeper, Yoshi Kawaguchi, tipped their attempts over the bar. Japan nailed their first two shots, before Takahara skied his attempt. Finally, after more than two hours of tension as thick as the tropical air, the Japanese went through after winning the shoot-out 4-3. A rivalry was cemented.

In Australia, the errant penalties of Kewell and Neill will long be remembered. Grella's sending-off will long be debated. The greatest upshot, however, is that the Socceroos will be better prepared when they contest the next Asian Cup finals, in 2011.

A return match against Japan will be eagerly anticipated. The nations, as well as large parts of the continents of Asia and Oceania, will be watching.