Football: Aussies benefit from Poll; WORLD CUP 2006 +++.

Byline: By Simon Stone

THE performance of Barclays Premiership referee Graham Poll will be analysed by FIFA before they decide what action to take after his yellow-card blunder in last night's match between Australia and Croatia.

Poll booked the Croatia player, Josip Simunic, three times, only sending him off on the third occasion.

However, there will be no immediate response from FIFA, with a spokesman saying: "We had a first in the history of the World Cup, unfortunately, when a player received three yellow cards - this is a little bit too much.

"In terms of the referee, this will be analysed and we cannot make any further statement on that."

FIFA did admit that, had Australia lost the game and gone out of the World Cup, they would have had grounds to request a replay.

Bookmakers are offering odds of 10-1 that referee Graham Poll will take any further part in the World Cup.

Having rejected a couple of clear Australian penalty claims and also not been informed by his assistant that Kewell was marginally offside when he fired home the crucial goal, Poll was already having a bad night when he brandished a yellow card in Simunic's face for a foul on Kewell.

The Melbourne-born centre-half should have been accompanying previously dismissed team-mate Dario Simic and Aussie defender Brett Emerton into the changing rooms as Simunic had already been shown one yellow card.

Poll only realised his error after the final whistle when he produced a third yellow card and promptly dismissed the defender.

The Australians, appearing in only their second World Cup finals and their first for 32 years, will now meet Italy next Monday in Kaiserslautern after the drama-filled draw.

The Australians had been behind as early as the second minute when Darijo Srna curled home a magnificent free-kick, after Socceroos' captain Mark Viduka had fouled Croatian captain Niko Kovac on the edge of the area.

It was Croatia's first goal at this World Cup but the Australians equalised for the first time through a Craig Moore penalty on 38 minutes after Poll spotted a blatant handball by big defender Stjepan Tomas inside the box.

But all the Socceroos' hard work to get back on level terms was undone when back-up keeper Zeljko Kalac - a shock choice in goal ahead of regular custodian Mark Schwarzer - let in a soft 57th-minute goal from Kovac, a long-range shot which Kalac allowed to sneak under his body.

Yet the Socceroos still got the draw they needed, which Hiddink said afterwards was tribute to the players' huge fighting spirit.

"This team has a lion heart," a proud Austtralia coach Gus Hiddink said. "It just continues to fight to the end, no matter what.

"They never give up, no matter what happens and that is crucial.

"You also have to have a plan of how you want to play at international level because heart will only get you a certain amount of the way but it certainly helps."

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CAPTION(S):

GREETING CARD... Graham Poll flashes a second yellow card at Josip Simunic but neglects to send him off