FIFA World Cup 2006

They may be bleary-eyed and nervous, but Aussie football fans packing bars across the country Monday will also rejoice in the Socceroos' return to the World Cup finals after a 32-year absence.

The green and gold team's opening match against Japan will kick-off at 11:00 pm Monday on Australia's eastern seaboard but pubs are not expecting the late start on a work night to diminish crowds.

"We're expecting to be very, very busy indeed," said Australian Hotels Association spokesman Bill Healey, whose members have been given special dispensation in some states to stay open late for the tournament.

"People want to come to the pub and cheer on their team in a community atmosphere."

Employer groups have adopted a flexible approach so Australians need not adopt the traditional remedy of "chucking a sickie" after their nocturnal excesses.

"Some people will be shifting their hours, some will work from home and others have saved up their leave to take it in one big block," Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry spokesman Chris Harris told AFP.

"But no doubt there will still be a few sleepy eyes in the workplace."

Among die-hard football fans there is little of the cocksure swagger that often accompanies Australia's efforts in sports where it traditionally dominates, such as cricket, swimming or rugby league.

"We're just glad to be there," Socceroos supporter Bruno Di Mattia told AFP.

"If we get through to the qualifying rounds it will be a bonus," he added, noting that Australia's group includes reigning champions Brazil, Asian champions Japan and widely-respected Croatia.

Like many football fans in multicultural Australia, Sydney-based Di Mattia's loyalties are split between the national side and his country of ethnic origin -- in this case, Italy.

Large expatriate Italian and English communities are preparing their own events to urge on their teams, while at Sydney's famous Bondi beach, backpackers from every corner of the world will ensure no side is unsupported.

Briton Neil Liasides said England remained his first team even after 20 years of living in Australia.

But he admitted to a soft spot for the Socceroos after seeing them come close to reaching the 1994, 1998 and 2002 finals, only to lose their final qualifying matches and remain in the football wilderness.

Australia's presence at the world's biggest sporting event has lifted soccer's profile in a country where it normally struggles against rival oval-ball codes and cricket.

An AFP image shot by photographer Torsten Blackwood of Socceroo players celebrating the moment they qualified for the tournament in a penalty shootout against Uruguay is ubiquitous in Australia.

Plastered across shopping centres nationwide, it has been adopted by top banks, sports stores and telecoms companies keen to capitalise on unprecedented public interest in football.

Newspapers are offering medals bearing the likeness of "our Socceroo heroes" -- the Vince Grella medal anyone? Collect all 15 squad members for just 30 dollars.

Prime Minister John Howard, a self-confessed "cricket tragic" who goes power walking every day in an Australian Rugby Union track suit, has also jumped on the bandwagon and offered the Socceroos a message of support.

The football fever has even extended to the normally staid world of financial markets, where Macquarie Bank analysts briefly forgot bonds and derivatives to analyse Australia's chances against Japan.

Their prediction for the match after number-crunching by a comprehensive, and completely unbiased, quant statistical model? 3-2 -- to Australia, of course.