Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has called on Aussie fans to get behind his side in their massive World Cup clash with Paraguay, regardless of if they “officially” take a day off or not.

The match, which starts at 10am (WST) today, threatens to bring the country to a standstill, with millions of fans set to tune in.

Australia will need either to win or draw against Paraguay to guarantee their spot in the knockout stage of the tournament, and with the massive repercussions surrounding the match, there have been calls nationwide for Friday to be granted as a public holiday.

NSW Premier Chris Minns was quick to shut down any hope of an official holiday for the state when questioned by Socceroos champion Archie Thompson.

While on Tuesday, assistant coach Paul Okon jokingly called for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to declare a public holiday.

Speaking on the eve of the match, Popovic said he expected Aussies to be tuning in regardless.

“I’m pretty confident they will capture the moment whether they have the day off or not,” he said.

I’m sure every Australian will be somewhere watching the Socceroos and watching these boys perform and be very proud of them.”

“So I’m sure it will happen, we want that to continue into the evening in terms of celebrations so the first part is they get behind us, watch the game, I’m sure they’ll be very proud of this young group and what they will show out on the pitch.

“Whether they’re officially given a day off or not, I anticipate every Australian will be watching.”

Perth product Alessandro Circati said he was also expecting schools to let kids show their support.

“I don’t know if they’re getting a day off either, I’m sure either way all the kids at school will be watching, I’m sure, at least from my experiences at school, teachers are always very supportive of these types of sporting events,” he said.

“I’m sure everyone will still be following whether the days been given off or not.”