Australia books spot in round-of-32 after scoreless draw against Paraguay
Updated ,first published
Santa Clara: Australian coach Tony Popovic praised the efforts of Socceroo’s youngest-ever player Lucas Herrington to start the World Cup, describing him as a “special talent” as his team booked a place in the knockout stages of the tournament with a scoreless draw against Paraguay.
The result at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara was enough to ensure Australia finished second in their group and automatically qualified for the round 32 match in Dallas on July 4 at 4am (AEST). Their opponents are not yet known, but Iran will be whoever finishes second in Group G, which includes Egypt, Belgium or New Zealand.
“This is a special day; we have already seen how many major countries have not gone through this process,” Popovic said. “I would like to think that we dominated the game in an important World Cup qualifying match with a very young squad, with everything at stake in the third leg and the players showing composure, patience, quality and resilience.
“Now we’re going to go to Dallas and try to do something special. Overall, we deserved it. We were very good today.”
18-year-old centre-half Herrington was among Australia’s best in the important match in Group D. The former Brisbane Roar defender didn’t put a foot wrong with a performance that showed a level of calm and composure beyond his four national team starts.
“He is a special talent and… that’s why he was selected in the squad, not just to make up the numbers and once again put this talented young man in charge in the most important match of the trio,” Popovic said.
“He was ready to play. He was probably disappointed he didn’t get minutes against the USA, which I love to see. And he was outstanding today.”
While Australia offered moments of attacking intent, their South American rivals gave Socceroos fans some tense moments late on as 69,000 fans at Levi’s Stadium were served a contest between two teams intent on not losing. The draw would probably be enough for Paraguay to become one of the best third-placed teams.
Popovic, who came under heavy criticism for the team he sent to the United States, made six changes to his starting XI after the 2-0 defeat in Seattle, including starting Herrington opposite Cameron Burgess in defence. The top five included Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, the two scorers of the Türkiye win, and Cristian Volpato, who made his first national team start with an impressive performance in the last 30 minutes against the USA.
The developments at the Socceroos were evident from the start. Nervous and fearful against the USA, Australia started on the front foot against Paraguay and threatened early with a cut-back from Volpato midfielder Jackson Irvine, himself making his first start of this World Cup, forcing Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill to make a save after just four minutes.
Both sides established their positions for most of the first half. Australia dominated the ball in an unusual position and tried to attack. Defensively, Paraguay looked determined to sit back and be patient.
Defender Jordy Bos, who replaced the injured Jacob Italiano from his preferred left wing, had his best game of the tournament and formed a strong link with Volpato on the right. Bos had Australia’s two best chances; He forced a save from Gill in the 37th minute and ran into the penalty area in the 89th minute to push out the game-winning goal.
Volpato posed a constant threat throughout the 58 minutes he was on the pitch, constantly trying to break down the Paraguay defense and his shot on the stroke of half-time forced Gill into a nervy save.
La Albirroja He tried to take the game further to Australia in the second half by firing three shots at the Australian goal from distance in the first five minutes, but only one strike from Mauricio forced a save from Socceroos goalkeeper Patrick Beach.
The longer the game went on, the more both sides seemed content to share the points, but final opportunities presented Australia with tense moments as Julio Enciso shot from distance and Tete Yengi forced Beach to make another save.
“You may have ideas about how the game was played or what we both thought we needed, but at no stage did we feel like we were playing for a draw,” Popovic said. “I thought we controlled the game pretty well, had control and had better opportunities.”
Herrington’s performance also earned praise from his teammates, including Irvine, who said the youngster played “fearlessly”.
“He played like he was in his fourth World Cup,” said Milos Degenek.
Defeat could have knocked the Socceroos out of the tournament altogether, or, had they qualified as the third-placed team, forced them to negotiate a quick comeback ahead of a knockout tie against European heavyweights such as Germany, France or Portugal in three or four days.
Instead, Popovic said the Socceroos would take advantage of the eight-day break and allow the “enthusiasm” of the then-young players to settle before preparing for the next match.
“These eight days not only prepare us for that match, but if we can somehow get through it, we can also be ready for a shorter comeback from now on,” he said. “We are very happy to have this break and we have a good plan in place to ensure that all the players are fit, ready and able to deliver a big performance that will give us the chance to progress further.”
Paraguay will have to wait to find out their fate, but they are well placed to reach the knockout round for the fifth time. “Now we have to wait,” said coach Gustavo Alfaro. “I’m optimistic we can move to the next level.”
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Nick Ralston is deputy editor and research editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously served as news editor, justice editor and world editor.Connect with: X or email.
