It’s the World Cup match that threatens to bring Australia to a standstill on Friday.

And only a disastrous result and a slice of bad luck in the Socceroos’ final group stage match against Paraguay could bring the party to a grinding halt.

A win or a draw in the clash at Santa Clara in California would send Tony Popovic’s side through to the round of 32 as the second-placed team in their group behind the USA and ahead of Paraguay and Turkey.

But even if they do slip up against the South American side, there is still hope, with Australia likely to finish as one of the eight best third-placed finishers.

If they finish second, the likely outcome is that Australia face Belgium — who are star-studded but have underperformed at this tournament — in Dallas.

If they lose, they will likely face global powerhouse Germany in Boston.

The Socceroos will enter Friday’s clash without two important cogs. Veteran forward Mathew Leckie — who started the 2-0 defeat to USA on Saturday morning — has a hamstring injury and fullback Jacob Italiano has been ruled out with an adductor issue.

On Thursday, Australia’s third-placed safety net took a small hit, with South Africa’s stunning upset of South Korea, but they are still favoured to progress.

South Korea now join the pool of third-placed finishers who will have to wait until the group stage is complete to learn their fate.

If they had beaten South Africa, they would have eliminated them, leaving Australia more wriggle room in the top eight.

The Socceroos sit on three points with a goal difference of zero after a win over Turkey and a loss to the USA.

While the World Cup’s official data partner Opta Analyst still predicts Australia are a 93.24 per cent chance of survival, as they have since Curaçao made history in a draw with Ecuador on Monday, the Socceroos won’t want any defeat to be by more than one goal.

Three points are likely to be enough, even with a negative goal difference, so long as it’s small.

Speaking on the eve of the match, coach Popovic said he believes his team — the youngest Australia has ever taken to a World Cup — has matured in the space of just weeks and will handle the pressure.

“These young boys are learning on the go. It’s a very quick education and lessons we are learning and I’m seeing them grow as young men, as players, and I’m seeing them mature,” he said.

“I’m seeing them enjoying and embracing the greatest challenge of all, which is the World Cup. It doesn’t get greater than this.”

It means there is still great mystery surrounding the make-up of Australia’s starting team after Popovic pulled a series of surprises across the first two matches.

Popovic’s opposite number Alfaro held court during a 50-minute press conference on Wednesday and said his players would not hold back after they clung on for a 10-man, 1-0 win over Turkey to keep their World Cup alive.

“I tell my players, we need to live this match as if it were the last one we play,” he said via a translator.

“And hopefully, we’ll earn the right to play one more game. And we want to do that game-after-game. We need to keep working.

“We are playing to advance to the next stage. It is a final for us.

“There’s no tomorrow for us. The game is tomorrow. There’s no tomorrow. The tomorrow will exist if we win.”

Australia has qualified for the second-round of the World Cup finals just twice previously, in 2006 and 2022.