Germany ruthlessly exposed the massive gulf in class between both sides with a comfortable victory but Australia will feel hard done by after Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez gave Everton's Tim Cahill a straight red card when a yellow card seemed like the more obvious option.
I can only assume that Rodriguez thought Cahill had gone in two-footed on German play-maker Bastian Schweinsteiger and that was why the midfielder was dismissed. Upon seeing a replay, it was clear to everyone that Cahill had not gone maliciously into the challenge, although it was late. At best, it was a challenge worthy of a yellow card. The decision, ultimately, made little difference as Germany were well in control before the aforementioned offence.
It is interesting to note that three of Germany's four goalscorers were not actually from Germany; Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski both come from Poland whilst Cacau is Brazilian-born. Thomas Muller was the only German-born player to score on the night for Germany. England fans, however, have no right to complain given the various nationalities in their national cricket team that recently won the World Twenty/20 tournament.
It was Lukas Podolski who emphatically opened the scoring with an 82mph strike that was too hot for Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer to handle. Miroslav Klose soon got in on the act after missing an easy chance minutes earlier when he rose highest to beat Schwarzer to the ball and double the German advantage and net his 11th World Cup goal.
The red card effectively ended the match as a contest before Germany made it a rout with goals from Thomas Muller got his first international goal following some impressive footwork in the Australian penalty area. Substitute Cacau finished the rout with a tap-in, also his first international goal, as the Germans cruised to victory.
German skipper Phillip Lahm was instrumental for his side, providing the assist for Klose's goal as the 32 year-old moved to within 4 goals of the record amount of goals scored at a World Cup, a record held by Ronaldo. Lahm is arguably the best full-back in world football, providing defensive solidity as well as a major threat when going forward on either wing.
Despite a brilliant performance from Lahm, it was youngster Mesut Ozil who stole the show for Germany, providing numerous opportunities for colleagues with his creativity and flair being enough to win him a lot of admirers as well as the man of the match award. The World Cup is so often a platform for young players like Ozil to make a mark and, judging by his performance earlier, the 21 year-old is keen to shine on the big stage.
Obviously it is too early to call this World Cup but it cannot be denied that Germany are the most impressive side we've seen so far in the tournament. When they last won the World Cup in Italy back in 1990, they won their first game convincingly against what was, at the time, Yugoslavia by 4 goals to 1. If history were to repeat itself, we cannot say we haven't been warned.
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