Paraguay vs Australia FIFA 2026 World Cup Recap: Socceroos through to knockout stages after draw

“They showed their quality last week,” he says in regard to the front three.

“Cristian got some valuable minutes. He trained really well this week. Nestor was really strong this week in training and Connor’s a guy that we can always rely on. He looks like he’s freshened up from last week.

“Not going for a draw is important. We’ve not spoken about that as a group this week.

“If we win the game, that gives us the best possible chance.”

For the third - and hopefully not last - time this World Cup, Australians fans have made their presence felt pre-game, turning out en masse for their pre-game march.

The travelling Aussie contingent was so big, there had to be three separate watering holes across the city of San Jose (an hour south of San Francisco).

But they converged on the aptly-named Tasman Drive in the baking sunlight three hours before kick-off to commence their now-traditional, colourful, voluminous walk to the stadium.

Sporadic renditions of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ and ‘I Am Australian’ filled the air around the Santa Clara stadium as the light-rail trolley to the stadium ground to a halt a stop early due to the sheer number of Aussies blocking its route.

No matter what happens in this game, whether or not the Socceroos’ journey ends, their fans have done themselves proud all tournament.

Popovic has once again rung the changes with six new starters compared to the side that ran out against the USA.

As expected, Volpato will start along with Irankunda, while Lucas Herrington will make his World Cup debut.

It’s an attacking line-up it’s safe to say.

Federation Square in Melbourne is pumping already while there’s plenty of green and gold in Santa Clara.

It’s anyone’s best guess what Australia’s starting XI will be with Popovic not afraid to make bold calls.

It worked against Turkey but backfired against the USA and all we can be certain of is Matt Leckie and Jacob Italiano won’t be there with both injured.

The West Australian’s soccer expert Ben Smith, who is on the ground in the US covering the World Cup gave his best guess.

PREDICTED STARTING XI

Patrick Beach

Alessendro Circati, Harry Souter, Lucas Herrington

Jason Geria, Aiden O’Neill, Paul Okon-Engstler Jordan Bos

Nestory Irankunda, Mo Toure, Connor Metcalfe

If you’re not already at work, a Socceroos legend has called for all Aussies to down the tools and support the team.

“As Bob Hawke famously said, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum!”

A reminder that the eight best third-placed teams will still qualify for the round of 32, meaning the Socceroos could still get through with a loss.

However, Ecuador’s 2-1 upset over Germany this morning has narrowed those scenarios, boosting them to four points and taking up one of those spots.

Other results yesterday did not help either, particularly South Africa’s shock 1-0 win over South Korea, meaning it’s best to come away with something against Paraguay today.

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Australia take on Paraguay with a spot in the knockouts on the line.

It’s not an understatement to say this is one of the biggest matches in their history as the Socceroos look to advance to the knockouts for just the third time.

We’re just under two hours away from kick-off and we’ll have all the build-up as it comes.