Paraguay and Australia drew 0-0 in their final Group D match in Santa Clara. The result sent Australia through to the round of 32. Paraguay, on four points, must wait to learn if they advance.
Paraguay and Australia drew 0-0 in their final Group D match in Santa Clara. The result sent Australia through to the round of 32. Paraguay, on four points, must wait to learn if they advance.
Australia controlled the early stages and created clearer openings. Jackson Irvine drew a save from Orlando Gill inside four minutes, and Gill also turned away a Cristian Volpato effort late in the first half. Paraguay, deploying a back five, managed just one shot before the break.
The South Americans improved after switching to a back four. Julio Enciso sliced through but fired wide eight minutes from time. Jordan Bos went close for Australia in the 89th minute, and Mauricio shot weakly at Patrick Beach in stoppage time.
Australia sealed second place behind the United States on a better goal difference than Paraguay. Both sides entered the match with three points after beating Türkiye, and a draw served each. Tony Popovic made six changes to his starting line-up, recalling Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe and adding Volpato. The shake-up included a first World Cup appearance for 18-year-old Lucas Herrington, the youngest Australian to start a World Cup match. Australia reach the knockout phase for a third time, four years after the last 16 in Qatar.
Paraguay finished third on four points with a goal difference of minus two, and now Gustavo Alfaro's side must wait on the remaining group fixtures. Diego Gómez picked up his second yellow card of the group stage and will miss Paraguay's next game if they reach the knockout stage. Defender Omar Alderete was forced off in the closing stages after jarring his left knee.
Popovic defended his cautious approach after full-time. "I'd like to think that we dominated the game in a crucial World Cup qualifier with a very young squad in the third match, when everything's on the line, and the players showed composure, patience, quality, and resilience," he told reporters. "We'll now go to Dallas and try and do something special."
Alfaro admitted the point left mixed feelings. "Well, the feeling I have is that that was not enough, that was not the result we were aiming for," he said. "Now we have to wait, there is some uncertainty ... I'm very optimistic, however, and I think that we will go to the knockout stage and we will continue in the World Cup."
Australia travel to face the runners-up of Group G, decided on Friday when Egypt meet Iran and Belgium play New Zealand. Paraguay's path depends on results across the final group matches in the coming days.
