in brief
- Australia will finish second in their group stage thanks to their draw against Paraguay.
- Ecuador caused a major upset by defeating Germany to make it to the next round.
It's been a big day for football fans in Australia, with the Socceroos' make-or-break match against Paraguay ending nil-all — securing Australia's spot in the Round of 32.
The 0-0 result was enough for the Socceroos to finish second in Group D, allowing them to advance to the knockouts for the third time in history. There, they'll face the second-placed Group G team — whoever they turn out to be — on 4 July at 4am AEST.
SBS News live-blogged all of the action.
The Socceroos, who defeated Türkiye in their opening match before losing to the United States, were never seriously threatened on their way to securing a point to reach the last 32.
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Only seven shots were placed on target the entire match — five by Australia and two by Paraguay.
Overall, the Socceroos had a 12-7 advantage in shots.
Orlando Gill made five saves for Paraguay and Australian counterpart Patrick Beach had two stops.
Jordan Bos had two opportunities for the Aussies late in the match.
In the 83rd minute, he got caught up in traffic and could only get off a left-footed roller that was easily stopped by Gill. Six minutes later, Bos delivered a booming left-footer from the right side that was just wide of the far post.
Maurício had a chance for Paraguay in the third minute of second-half stoppage, but his tame left-footed attempt was easily grabbed by Beach.
The draw also left Paraguay firmly on course for the knockout rounds as one of the eight best third-placed teams in the group stage.
Group E's standings have now been settled, with Curaçao's fairy tale run being brought to an end following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Côte d'Ivoire. The tiny island nation became the smallest country by population to qualify for this year's World Cup.
The Netherlands cruised to a 3-1 victory over Tunisia, securing the top spot in Group F. The group rankings were decided when Sweden drew with Japan, 1-1.
Türkiye shock USA with last-gasp winner
Türkiye beat a heavily changed USA 3-2 with a late game-winner from Kaan Ayhan in an action-packed dead-rubber clash that gave the World Cup co-hosts their sternest test so far ahead of the knockout rounds.
Already crowned Group D winners, the USA arrived in Los Angeles seeking to extend a perfect start with a third win, but with more than an eye on next Thursday's last-32 meeting against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
For Türkiye, already eliminated and without even a goal after disastrous losses to Paraguay and Australia, the only objective was to restore some pride.
For the third game running, the USA got off to a dream start. One of nine changes, backup centre-half Auston Trusty was unmarked at the far post from a USA corner, given time to cushion the ball with his left foot then blast it home.
But Türkiye did not surrender. Having not scored in 62 efforts across their first two games, it was 63rd time lucky for the Turks, and their star man Arda Güler.
The Real Madrid forward duped Mark McKenzie with a clever dummy, allowing the ball to run down the right flank to Barış Alper Yılmaz. Yılmaz crossed it back into Güler, who smashed it past Matt Turner to equalise in the 10th minute.
In the 31st minute, Güler spotted Eren Elmalı's overlapping run, feeding it to the wing-back, who cut the ball back from the left byline to Yılmaz, who steered it beyond the keeper.
The half-time break proved the perfect tonic for the USA. In the 49th minute, they were back level from a long throw by McKenzie. The ball was cleared by Türkiye only as far as the USA's Sebastian Berhalter, who did well to smash his shot low into the bottom corner.
And deep into stoppage time, Ayhan spoiled the USA party, slamming the ball home from close range.
Tears of joy for triumphant Ecuador
"The significance of this is not for me, it is for the people," Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece said after his team's 2-1 win over Germany.
"The players gave a huge happiness to the people. We have to enjoy it and celebrate, please," he added,
Germany had already been assured of winning the group after wins over Côte d'Ivoire and Curaçao.
But coach Julian Nagelsmann was left dismayed at what he described as "tactical suicide" against Ecuador.
"We got off to a great start," Nagelsmann said. "Unfortunately, right after scoring, we started committing tactical suicide with our positioning. That makes things difficult.
"Ecuador had everything to play for, and you could tell - they had their foot on the gas."
Curaçao over and out
Côte d'Ivoire, meanwhile, sealed the runners-up spot in Group E after eliminating Curaçao in Philadelphia, Nicolas Pepe scoring twice in a 2-0 victory. It is the first time that the West African nation has reached the knockout stage.
Curaçao, the smallest country by population ever to play in the World Cup, departs the tournament with one point to finish bottom of the group.
Coach Dick Advocaat said Thursday his team could go out of the World Cup with their heads held high.
"The players can be proud of themselves. I have been to tournaments before, and this team has really excelled, the way they have played against world-class sides, full of enthusiasm and full of guts," he said.
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Côte d'Ivoire forward Pepe believes the Elephants can keep on going now they are through to the next stage.
"We are setting no limits. We have huge potential. Now we are into the knockout rounds so we will see what happens," he said.
The Dutch march into knockout arena
The Netherlands overcame a dismal Tunisia 3-1 to top Group F and skirted a tricky encounter with Brazil in the last 32.
Ronald Koeman's men flew into a two-goal lead in soggy Kansas City thanks to some shoddy defending from the North African side.
First, Ellyes Skhiri sliced Denzel Dumfries' cross into his own net and minutes later Sunderland forward Brian Brobbey lashed home from close range.
That apparently sealed the deal for the Netherlands, whose orange-clad fans were entertaining themselves with Mexican waves midway through the first half at Arrowhead Stadium.
Tunisia pulled a goal back in the second half but the Dutch restored their two-goal lead courtesy of a Jan Paul van Hecke header shortly after the hour mark.
The Netherlands finished its fixtures with seven points and will face Morocco in the second round in Monterrey on Monday.
Japan to face Brazil in the knockout
Japan will face the mighty Brazil in the knockout round after drawing 1-1 with Sweden to finish runners-up of Group F.
In a game in front of 70,000 in Texas that sprang into life in the second half, Daizen Maeda gave Japan the lead soon after the break, but Anthony Elanga levelled minutes later.
Japan, fancied as dark horses to go far in North America, was hanging on by the end as Alexander Isak and Elanga both went close in injury time.
Graham Potter's Sweden has also qualified for the knockouts as one of the best third-placed finishers.
— With reporting by Agence France-Presse and Reuters news agencies.
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