Australia coach Guus Hiddink said that the penalty given to Italy's Azzuri was given too easily. Tim Cahill also backed Hiddink's claim as he harsly criticised the referee's decision, which saw Australia knocked-out of the World Cup 2006 tournament in Germany.

"If you see the replay, there was no doubt it was not a penalty," Hiddink said. "Bitter to see that in the last second."

"I just can't believe it. We're in disbelief because anyone who watched the game could see that it was not a penalty," Tim Cahill said, immediately after the end of the match.

"I'm furious, it's unbelievable. Everyone says 'well done, Australia's played well, a pat on the back, you've proved everyone wrong' but we haven't."

"We should still be in this World Cup. I respect Italy, they're a good team but so are we," Tim Cahill added.

Italy were awarded a penalty after a rash tackle from Lucas Neill on Fabio Grosso.

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