Socceroos through to the knockouts as Paraguay match ends in goalless draw — as it happened

Irankunda wins a free kick after he's taken out from behind near the halfway line.

Australia plays it short, but coughs up possession on the right flank.

Volpato wins it back, but it's cleared and goes out for an Australian throw-in.

A nice run from Volpato, getting past two defenders in the box before it's cleared.

A Paraguay player has gone down after a clash with Harry Souttar but no foul is given.

Australia wins a corner after a slide tackle on Volpato.

It goes high and Paraguay's defence heads it away.

Paraguay wins a free kick after a foul by Jordy Bos, who grabs an opponent's shirt. Paraguay goes short before it's chipped into the box, but goalie Patrick Beach intercepts it. He plays it out quick to Nestory Irankunda on the right flank, but Paraguay has players behind the ball. Irankunda plays it back.

The corner is parried away by Paraguay's defence, but Australia maintains possession.

First chance for Australia with Cristian Volpato crossing into the box where Jackson Irvine takes a shot. It's blocked by the Paraguay keeper and Australia wins a corner.

Australia has kicked off, with Nestory Irankunda taking the first touch.

— Miles Proust

A few more minutes to kick-off, and the players have walked out onto the pitch.

Socceroos' captain Harry Souttar leads the Australian side.

Both sides have lined up for the national anthems.

— Miles Proust

There's plenty of Aussies among the crowd at the nearly 70,000-seat San Francisco Bay Area stadium.

At the last match against co-hosts USA, Aussie fans were in the minority. This time, there’s almost certainly more wearing green and gold than the white and red of Paraguay.

— Ben Lewis

Socceroos fans are making their presence felt at the stadium. Source: Getty / Alex Livesey - FIFA

No surprises who these fans are supporting. Source: Getty / Dean Mouhtaropoulos

Paraguayan fans dressed in kangaroo outfits. Their sign reads: "Today we are eating kangaroo!" Source: Getty / Matt McNulty - FIFA

SBS is streaming the Socceroos match against Paraguay live and free.

You'll need to create an On Demand login if you don't have one.

And then, you can rewatch the match later. And the highlights. And all 103 other matches.

Here is the link:

— Madeleine Wedesweiler

Former Socceroo Harry Kewell said Cristian Volpato, who was subbed on against the USA, is a key to the Socceroos' attack.

"We're gonna need something in this game," he said on SBS.

"He can bring that.

"We saw him in moments against the USA. He livened it up for us."

Volpato looked seriously impressive in moments against the USA, you can watch more here:

— Miles Proust

Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has just spoken to SBS about his selection choice.

"It's the biggest game that we need to play to get through," he said.

"This lineup we believe can set a good foundation."

He said the Socceroos won't be playing for a draw, which is all they need to progress to the Round of 32.

"Not going for a draw, that's I think important," he said.

"We've not spoken about that as a group this week.

"It's about winning the game, if we have that mindset, it gives us a good chance."

He said Cristian Volpato, Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe had shown their quality when they came on against the USA and the team had been training well throughout the week.

Centre-back Lucas Herrington, 18, will be playing his first World Cup minutes today.

"I haven't asked him too much," Popovic said, when asked how Herrington might be feeling.

"He's a very cool and calm young man. I've got big wraps on him for the future, but I trust him enough to play in a crucial game."

He also thanked Australians back home who were watching the game.

"The support we're getting from school kids, to mums and dads, to boys and girls — we feel their presence, we feel their support. And once again, we want to make them proud today."

— Miles Proust

Paraguay has made a few changes to its starting line-up, with centre-back Gustavo Velázquez coming in. He came on in the second half against Türkiye.

Left back Alexandro Maidana and striker Gabriel Ávalos will also start.

— Miles Proust

An hour before kick-off, the live site at Melbourne's Federation Square is at capacity, with fans redirected to Melbourne Rectangular Stadium instead.

Fans were seen lining up outside Federation Square hours before the match. The venue is one of the most popular live sites, with about 7,500 fans attending the Australia v USA match last week.

Some fans let off flares and fireworks at that match, with police making two arrests.

You can find a list of live sites at the link below:

READ MORE

Where to watch Australia v Paraguay at live sites — and what weather to expect

— Miles Proust

The Socceroos have arrived at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium ahead of kick-off.

The players stepped off the team bus dressed in suits.

— Miles Proust

Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has made six changes to his starting lineup, with Nestory Irankunda and Cristian Volpato set to replace Mohamed Touré and Nishan Velupillay.

Aziz Behich has come in for right-back Jacob Italiano, who was injured during training this week. He starts in his preferred left-back position, and Jordy Bos switches from left to right back.

Connor Metcalfe, who scored against Türkiye but started on the bench against the USA, will also be on the pitch.

Also in midfield, Jackson Irvine has been swapped in for Paul Okon-Engstler.

Eighteen-year-old Lucas Herrington comes in for Cameron Burgess as left-centre back.

Metcalfe, Irankunda and Volpato were all subbed in for the second half against the USA.

The Socceroos looked far more dangerous after the break, largely thanks to their efforts, which helped swing the momentum in Australia's favour and keep the USA on the back foot.

Let's hope we see something similar against Paraguay.

— Miles Proust

Despite the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium being surrounded mostly by carparks and a closed theme park, Australian fans weren't dissuaded from marching down the road to the stadium en masse.

Source: SBS / David Ollier

Thousands of punters were escorted by police towards the stadium, chanting and setting off flares. A familiar sight for those across North America as the Australians prepare for their last match of the group stages.

An Australian woman using crutches said this would be her third march, despite injuring her leg on the second day of her trip.

Among the crowd, many Australian fans are extremely confident that the Socceroos will get over the line in just a few hours.

— Cameron Watts

Australia and Paraguay are level on three points after one win each, with the Socceroos sitting second in Group D on overall goal difference.

A draw would be enough for Australia to remain second and qualify for the Round of 32, where they would face the runner-up from Group G — Belgium, New Zealand, Iran or Egypt.

A defeat would likely still see the Socceroos progress as one of the tournament's eight best third-placed teams, but it would almost certainly mean a far tougher Round of 32 opponent — the winner of either Group E, Group I, or Group K.

As things stand, they means they would face Germany, France, or Colombia.

— Miles Proust

Good morning folks,

It's the big day — the crucial game between the Socceroos and Paraguay.

They'll be looking to bounce back after their defeat to the USA, but what exactly do they need?

A draw against La Albirroja would be enough to guarantee their place in the round of 32. Even with another loss, they would still likely progress — but almost certainly into a much tougher match-up.

Fortunately, my colleague and resident football expert Miles Proust has written up a preview of the match that will help bring you up to speed. You can find that here.

We'll be live blogging from around 10.30am AEST, and you'll also be able to watch the match live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand.

Looking forward to having you with us!

— David Aidone