Socceroos came back from their USA defeat, with a nil-nil draw against Paraguay - wrapping up their FIFA World Cup 2026™ group stage in style. Australia will now head to the Round of 32. Socceroos coach Tony Popovic says he's proud of his team. Jackson Irvine attempts an early shot on goal, Cristian Volpato found pockets of space between Paraguay's defensive lines, and Nestory Irankunda started on today. Join your host Haylena Krishnamoorthy for this episode of World Cup Daily | The 90+ Podcast, as she brings you the scenes from the stadium and at fan sites, as well as a wrap of today's results.
TRANSCRIPT
After an encouraging win over Türkiye..
..and a disappointing loss to the United States.
has Tony Popovic's side made it to the knockout rounds?
This is SBS News’ World Cup Daily: The 90+ Podcast, where we bring you the stories from on and beyond the pitch. I’m your host, Haylena Krishnamoorthy.
Supporters from both nations turned out in force to the San Francisco Bay Area stadium.
A sea of green and gold...
..as well as red, white and blue from the Paraguay fans.
"It will be one where the coach, I think, that chooses to attack the game first will be the one that gets the advantage. I believe, I could be wrong, but I have heard inside word that it looks like Popo has made quite a few changes and, quite attacking changes. So I think that's fantastic news for Socceroos fans and for the Socceroos. So I'm hoping that that means that we can get the win. I think it's important to note that Paraguay, have scored twice already in this tournament, but they only scored one goal every, like, 1.8 games in qualifying. So they don't have a lot of goals in them. And hopefully for the Socceroos, it's a case where they have already used up their goal-scoring prowess."
That's SBS' Breanna Holden - better known as Bre - she is one of the in-studio and Hisense hangout hosts of this World Cup.
I caught up with her just before the Australia vs Paraguay kick off.
She told me both teams are happy to absorb pressure rather than dominate possession.
Coach Tony Popovic did in fact make some changes.
He handed starts to Cristian Volpato, Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe after their lively cameos against the USA.
Eighteen-year-old Lucas Herrington also made his Cup debut.
This is Popovic, after the match.
Popovic: "Unbelievable, unbelievable, just so proud of everyone involved, the staff, the players, just a wonderful young group of men, now we go to Dallas and try to do something special. Thank you to everyone just amazing support today."
Journalist: "How is the heart rate, obviously you dominated most of that game but only two short on targets, but the one on the end there, how were the nerves?"
Popovic: "The one at the end, was the first time I really looked at the clock and thought, please, blow the whistle, but I think overall we deserved it. We were very good today, just wonderful performance."
Australia and Paraguay drew nil-nil in their crucial game.
The Socceroos - second in the group behind the USA - will now advance to the round of 32.
The Socceroos had 47 per cent possession to Paraguay's 41; and 12 attempts on goal, to Paraguay's 7.
Australia controlled much of the opening half; they dominated possession and created multiple opportunities.
They saw plenty of the ball and created several promising chances, with Cristian Volpato finding pockets of space between Paraguay's defensive lines.
Speaking at halftime, Socceroos assistant coach, Paul Okon, commended the team and Volpato's play.
"I think it sort of worked out how we planned. We're dominating the ball. We didn't expect Paraguay to change their shape. They've gone to a back five. It means that we have an extra player in midfield, and I think we've seen him a couple of times, Cristian Volpato coming into that pocket, picking up balls. I think we just need to be a little bit more efficient around the box and create more moments, more dangerous moments to score."
Before the game, I asked Bre about Popovic's decision not to start Nestory Irankunda in the previous match againt the USA.
"I think that the second-half performances for both, Australia games have been much better, but the first-half performance when Irankunda was on, obviously we got a goal there, and I think he does add an, an extra element or a different element to the team. It'd be interesting to see who he starts on the other wing or where he starts Irankunda, because you do want balance within the team so that when they're attacking and moving forward it doesn't become obvious, especially against a side like Paraguay. So I think hopefully he starts him. I think that it's the right move to start him, but I'm not a football coach, so I should put that- asterisks in there. But yeah, Irankunda is a game changer for Australia, there's no question."
Well, she wasn't wrong.
This is Jackson Irvine - who received a yellow card just after the second half - speaking, after the match.
"Amazing, two World Cups's in a row, two second places, shows the kind of steps we've made but these are the kind of expectations from us, now we've got to do something. No Australian teams have performed in a knockout game. I think the first half and hour of the game we were good, much more positive than the last couple. Which gives the boys a good feeling. At the end of the day, we knew a point was enough, so when the whistle came it's yeah, we're happy."
Australia came into the match with a couple of injury concerns.
Jacob Italiano was ruled out after picking up an injury, joining Mat Leckie on the sidelines.
But Bre says the Socceroos have enough depth to cover those absences.
"I think Matt Leckie is an absolute legend for Australia, but he wasn't at his best in our second game against the United States. So while him being out isn't maybe the best thing for team morale, I do think that Australia will be able to fill that hole, plug that gap. We have a lot of players across that midfield and across our, in our wide positions as well, so it's not, it's not like we don't have anyone that can play that role that Matt Leckie plays. And similarly with Jacob Italiano, it's, it is a big loss. He's someone who's played in the team quite a lot, but I, I think that fortunately for the Socceroos, the players that can't play are in positions that we should be able to fill them, which is always a win for the coaching team."
While the action unfolded in California, fans back home were watching closely at pubs and multiple other watch parties.
Federation Square in Melbourne was packed.
Darling Harbour..
and Sydney's Tumbalong Park was buzzing.
Here are some fans in Australia talking to SBS.
Male voxie 1: "I mean yeah as a fan, I kind of wanted the thing (a goal), but we're also in the round of 32. So like solid. I expected it from us."
Male voxie 2: "It doesn't matter. We don't need a goal. We're through to the knockout stage. We're winning the World Cup. Come on! Come on boys! (clapping)"
Female voxie: "We were very glad. We were waiting for this day. Thankfully, the weather was very good. And we had a day off today. So we really enjoy! Go Aussie go!"
On the ground in California, my colleague Ben Lewis today spoke to Socceroos supporters at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
Male voxie 1: "We can beat them. We've got this.
Ben Lewis: Or at least draw?
Male voxie 1: You aim for the moon, you land on the stars. We can make it. We can make it.
Male voxie 2: The roos are here. We're feeling good. 3 nil baby. 3 nil for the roos."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, shared his pride on social media:
"Onto the knockouts of a FIFA World Cup. What an effort by our Socceroos. You’ve made the nation proud."
Elsewhere, Turkiye shocked with a win against the US, 3-2 - it looked like a draw until their third goal in the 98th minute of play.
And there were some other big stories shaping the tournament.
Ecuador pulled off one of the upsets of the competition, beating four-time champions Germany 2-1 to reach the knockout stage.
Here's Bre again. She says this is the kind of football story that reminds everyone why the World Cup is so special.
"Ecuador, they've only qualified once previously for knockout football at a World Cup, and this morning they were put in an incredibly difficult position. They were up against Germany, four-time champions, already qualified. They started their A team, Germany did, which when you're looking at it, you're thinking to yourself, "Well, Ecuador hasn't scored a goal so far at this tournament. They've not looked great. Defensively yes, but in terms of their star players, they haven't been stepping up. This is going to be a mountain for them to climb." And it was one of those footballing narratives that you just couldn't write. They played out of their skins. Moises Caicedo had the perfect game for the national team. He played exactly the way we expect him to play. And although Enner Valencia wasn't able to get the goals that he would want, particularly given his prowess in the World Cup for Ecuador, we had younger players stepping up to the plate. Germany just couldn't quite click into gear. They couldn't work out what they wanted to do when they did have the ball, and Ecuador came away with the win. And in the stands there were tears, on the field there were tears. There's a lot of people from, Ecuadorian heritage that live in New York where the game was being played, in New Jersey, and you know that tonight in, in New York is just gonna be such a magical night for everyone because that's history for them, and their backs were against the wall, which makes it so much sweeter."
Elsewhere, Côte d'Ivoire booked their place in the next round with a 2-0 win over Curaçao.
Bre says while it wasn't quite the fairy-tale ending for Curaçao, their first-ever World Cup campaign has still been one of the stories of the tournament.
"Obviously Curaçao got their first goal at a World Cup in their first-ever World Cup, previously against Germany. They then picked up their first-ever point with a nil-nil draw against Ecuador. But Côte d'Ivoire was just a little bit more clinical today. They, they had most of the possession, they had most of the ball, in the positive areas, and it just took two lovely strikes from Nicolas Pepe, to put that game to bed. But I think that Curaçao have been an absolute revelation in this tournament and have shown that while some people maybe don't like a 48-team tournament for various reasons, there are still beautiful storylines that can come out of it and big surprises, which is what you wanna see. Côte d'Ivoire, I mean, I'm a big fan of African nations being in the World Cup. I like the energy that they bring. I like how much football means to them. And I just love that they are through to the next stage."
To catch up on the latest highlights, you can watch them at: SBS ON Demand.
The Socceroos' next game is at 4am Saturday 4 July (AEST) in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, when they will face the yet to be determined second-placed team from Group G.
Tomorrow, Norway vs France, Senegal vs Iraq, Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia, Uruguay vs Spain, Egypt vs Iran, New Zealand vs Belgium.
Stay tuned for the latest at the World Cup Daily | The 90+ Podcast.
And to get the latest World Cup news, check out SBS News Headlines, wherever you get your podcasts.
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