Aussies pile into fan parks as Socceroos World Cup fate awaits
Crazy scenes are playing out across the country as Australia’s World Cup squad prepares to decide its World Cup fate.
The Socceroos face Paraguay in a tough Group D match on Friday and know that anything short of a heavy defeat will allow them to progress to the knockout stages.
With the game due to kick off soon in San Francisco, Australians are packing into fan parks, arenas and pubs across Australia hoping to lead the Socceroos to victory.
And already there have been wild scenes reminiscent of those seen at the weekend of Australia’s 2-0 defeat against hosts the United States.
There was a huge crowd in Melbourne on Saturday; 7500 supporters filled Federation Square and around 8900 supporters filled AAMI Park and people queued throughout the day.
Similar scenes took place on Friday; Thousands of people lined up at Fed Park and tore down the fences in hopes of securing their seats.
Photos taken from Fed Square show hundreds of fans crowded against the barriers as security guards tried to control the crowd.
There were exciting scenes, with reports of youngsters jumping fences, jostling for position and chanting hours before the match.
The first fans began lining up for Fed Square around 5 a.m., about six hours before kickoff, and the fan park reached capacity about three hours later.
Before the USA match, two men were arrested on the field for launching 14 flares and one firework shortly before kick-off.
It’s not just in Australia where fans eagerly await kick-off, Socceroos fans in the US also create an enthusiastic atmosphere ahead of the match.
Wild footage of Santa Clara shows the streets turning green and gold as the Aussies take over.
Meanwhile, Socceroos boss Tony Popovic made six changes to his starting line-up; these include reintroducing Nestory Irankunda in favor of Mohamed Toure, who has failed to recapture his formidable goal-scoring form for Norwich City in the competition so far.
