Australia’s hopes of straightforward progression to the round of 32 will come down to their final group match on Friday (AEST) after a nightmarish loss to the USA at Seattle Stadium.
Paraguay’s gutsy 1-0 win over Turkey later on Friday (local time) means the Socceroos will finish second in their group if they secure a draw or win against the South Americans.
Defeat will consign Australia to third spot and a nervous wait to see if they are one of the eight best third-placed teams to still reach the knockout phase – and that would then mean facing a tougher round-of-32 opponent.
The eight best third-placed teams across the tournament will still reach the knockout phase.
That is a path that coach Tony Popovic will want to avoid.
At the 2022 World Cup, the Socceroos got through the group stage by beating Denmark and Tunisia 1-0, and falling to France in a 4-1 defeat.
Aussie star Nestory Irankunda (second from left) remonstrates with the referee during the loss to the USA. How he’s used in the remaining group stage match against Paraguay could be pivotal to Australia’s chances of progressing in the World Cup
Harry Souttar (pictured playing the Americans) has stressed that the team know their destiny is in their hands in the all-important match against the South Americans
Socceroos boss Tony Popovic (pictured) will be under heavy scrutiny this week after his team selections backfired against the USMNT
That put them in a round-of-16 match with eventual champions Argentina, which they lost 2-1.
Now all eyes will be on how Popovic chooses to attack his team’s game against Paraguay.
The Socceroos boss could trust exuberant young attackers like Nestory Irankunda, Mohamed Toure and Cristian Volpato to try and put Australia on the front foot.
Whether he will is another matter.
Popovic was rightly lauded for his selection and tactical masterclass in Australia’s opening 2-0 win over Turkey that set them on the path towards the knockouts.
But his decision to start a more conservative attack against the US, turning to Mathew Leckie and Nishan Velupillay over Turkey goalscorers Connor Metcalfe and Irankunda, backfired in Friday’s 2-0 loss.
Starter Toure struggled, was hooked at halftime and conceded post-match he had felt ‘alone’ up top.
And whether he deploys Irankunda, Metcalfe, Toure and Volpato to put Paraguay under pressure could prove pivotal – and will be a talking point all week.
Irankunda, speaking before Paraguay eliminated Turkey, said players were just focused on staying calm.
‘We’ll push on Thursday and get the result,’ he added.
Defender Harry Souttar said Australia’s reaction this week had to be positive.
‘We can look back at the game properly, take bits that we did well, and we didn’t do well – and there’s a lot of them,’ Souttar said ahead of Australia’s flight back to their Oakland base.
‘But it’s in our hands – we’re in that position where we know we can go through if we get a result.’
