Australia secured their place in the World Cup Round of 32 on Thursday after a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Paraguay, a result that pleased coach Tony Popovic but left the South American side anxiously waiting to see if they will progress.
In a physical and tightly contested match at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Paraguay improved late on after Australia dominated the early stages. However, the Socceroos held firm to book their place in the knockout stage for the third time, four years after reaching the last 16 in Qatar.
Popovic’s side finished second in Group D behind the United States and will now travel to Dallas, where they will face the runner-up of Group G a group still undecided ahead of Egypt vs Iran and Belgium vs New Zealand.
While the performance may not have been dominant, Australia’s players and staff celebrated their qualification, receiving warm support from travelling fans.
“I’d like to think we dominated the game in a crucial World Cup qualifier with a very young squad, and the players showed composure, patience, quality and resilience,” said Popovic.
“Now we go to Dallas and try to do something special. Overall, we deserved it.”
Paraguay, meanwhile, sit on four points and may still qualify as one of the best third-placed teams, but their fate depends on remaining group results.
Coach Gustavo Alfaro admitted disappointment, saying the result was not what his team aimed for, though he remained hopeful of progression to the knockout stage.
Popovic made six changes to his starting lineup in a bold tactical reshuffle, recalling Nestory Irankunda, Connor Metcalfe, and introducing Cristian Volpato in attack.
The changes followed criticism after Australia’s 2-0 defeat to the United States, particularly for benching Irankunda and Metcalfe, both of whom had scored in the earlier 2-0 win over Turkiye.
Australia showed early attacking intent, with Jordan Bos shifted to right-back to cover for injured Jacob Italiano helping create forward momentum. Early chances fell to Jackson Irvine and Volpato, but Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill remained solid.
As the match progressed, Paraguay grew stronger, with Julio Enciso causing problems for the Australian defence and coming close late on with a low effort that went wide.
In the closing minutes, Bos nearly broke the deadlock with a strong solo run into the box, but his shot narrowly missed the target.
Despite late pressure from Paraguay, Australia held on to secure qualification with a performance defined more by resilience than attacking flair.
