Socceroos vs Paraguay 2026 World Cup match thread 🇦🇺🇵🇾

[Dinamo]

Job done and the first biscotto of the tournament!

I wouldn't take too much out of this match given the circumstances. Only match of the World Cup with an xG below 1

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

Not wanting to take this thread off track, but peeking ahead it would be a fair bet we will face Argentina if we get past our next game.

I have to agree - this would have to be one of the best feeling nil all draws we have had.

Carn the bloody Roos!

That bloody soccer, its un-watchable. What with the cry babies rolling around on the ground all the time and the boring 0 to 0 scores.....
Just watch all the betting adds, they'll show ya.

 

[socceroosmad]

My main takeaway from this game, especially the first half, was that it was thrilling and such a refreshing change to see us in the opponent's half, dominationg possession, probing for ways through, keeping the opponent boxed in, being football yang to our usual yin. More of this please.

 

[booney52]

Boring?

I thought I was gonna have a heart attack.

That's their problem. Every sport has its dull moments. This game wasn't dull at all given the stakes and what we stood to lose was so much. My eyes were checking all routes when both teams went on the attack.

Then sit the kids down and play footage from Iran 97 and they'll be forever traumatised. The lesson is about game management.

Popovic isn't the right person to get the absolute best out of this group but we got the Turkey result and hopefully we'll get to see one more good performance in the next round.

Yes this was a good example of tournament play in the group stage.First rule is don't lose and anything better than that is a bonus.A draw was always going to get us second place and automatic qualification for R32

 

[JS96]

I remember Kalac during the last Euros about the criticism from some conservative group stage play and he said it's just tournament football. Not ideal but a lot of truth in it. he then dropped his coffee cup.

 

[booney52]

Bos was tremendous and really showed his attacking skills today.However I don't disagree with AON getting MOTM as he did his usual dirty work with hard tackling,shutting off the passing lanes,harassing opponents,intercepting passes and starting up attacking movements.

 

[SR1968]

Great result, against a very tough South American opponent, Paraguay are no mug team, the Conmebol qualifying group is no joke, and it's arguably the most brutal group in the world, so the Socceroos did very well. But what worries me is the bad finishing, Australia created some good opportunities but couldn't finish them.

It gets much tougher now.

 

[kiro kompiro]

IMO you either play Nesteroy as wide striker/winger in a front 3 or you play him as second striker with two up front.

He was wasted as the target man jumping for high balls marked by 2 or 3 defenders.

I

 

[Richie]

Is this a fair summary of our players. Some big numbers for some.

PATRICK BEACH - 8
Beach retained his spot in goal for the third match in a row. He was calm, involved in build-up play and is looking right at home between the sticks. Didn’t have a massive amount to do but was safe when called into action.

JORDAN BOS - 9
Jordan Bos can play right back. In-fact, Jordan Bos can probably play anywhere given the evidence of this performance. The Feyenoord fullback shifted flanks to cover the loss of the injured Jacob Italiano and was a constant threat. This could be the solution to a tricky problem for Popovic. He was able to drift wide or take up more inverted positions and combined well with Cristian Volpato.

ALESSANDRO CIRCATI - 9
Alessandro Circati proved why he is currently on the radar of several big-name clubs. His positioning was on point once again and he rarely lost a one-on-one duel. The guy is destined for big things.

HARRY SOUTTAR - 8.5
The captain didn’t have a lot to do with the action generally occurring to his left and right. Still, this was more minutes in the bank for a player who, in reality, is still in the early stages of his comeback from a ruptured achilles. How assured he has looked at the World Cup so far has hidden this fact a little.

LUCAS HERRINGTON - 8.5
Lucas Herrington is now the youngest player to start a match for the Socceroos at a World Cup. The new mark is 18 years and 293 days and it will take some beating. He launched into two huge challenges in the first half and won the ball both times against seasoned professionals. His decision making under pressure with and without the ball resembles a player well beyond his years.

AZIZ BEHICH - 8
What a luxury it is for Australia to have a player with the drive, experience and skill of Aziz Behich to call on. Behich started at left back with Jordy Bos shifting to the right and between them they fixed a giant Jacob Italiano sized hole in the process.

AIDEN O’NEILL - 8.5
You almost don’t notice the work Aiden O’Neill does but you’d miss it if it wasn’t there. He creates space for other players (Jackson Irvine was in large pockets for most of the game as a result) and works incredibly hard in defence. The game came to him a lot more in the second half. Mr reliable does it again.

JACKSON IRVINE - 8.5
Jackson Irvine came into the starting side for Paul Okon-Engstler. Okon-Engstler didn’t do anything wrong to lose his place in the starting side, but Irvine had also banged the door down in his appearances as a substitute. He wins balls he shouldn’t and laid off several smart passes under immense pressure.

CONNOR METCALFE - 7.5
Connor Metcalfe copped a boot to the head in the first half and was a little isolated. Most of Australia’s best moments came down the right instead of his left-hand side. He didn’t do anything wrong.

NESTORY IRANKUNDA - 8.5
The most dangerous Nestory Irankunda has looked so far at this tournament has been as a winger. He started at striker and looked lively at the beginning of the match, but in this role, he needs to rely on the brilliance of others to get him the ball in good areas and that didn’t quite happen often enough in the first 45. Irankunda got himself into the game much more in the second-half and looked a threat.

CRISTIAN VOLPATO - 8.5
This was a solid first start in a World Cup for a player who really could be something special. He’s on the way to being that already. Volpato has a superb knack of beating his man and did that multiple times. When the game wasn’t coming to him he also drifted centrally to find the ball. Pleasingly, he worked incredibly hard in defense as well.

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

My heart rate has finally slowed...

I stand by my rating of Souttar and Circati as Men OTM. O'Neill did well, as did Herrington, and Bos was brilliant in the 2nd half.

Irvine did some very good things but also frustrated me with his dreadful touch.

Not sure about Irankunda up front but I hope Popa goes in with almost the same side in the next match. A bit of time together may have helped their next effort.

 

[kiro kompiro]

Its exciting watching Volpato and Bos running and beating defenders, Volpato with close ball control and Bos with control and speed.

But..... there was no end product.

Both I felt tried to beat one too many defenders.

Volpato reminds me of a young Brett Emerton BEFORE he went to England: taking on and beating defenders with great close ball control and touch.

Like Emerton, I wonder how long before a Popovic goes and says: "It looks nice but there/s not end product.." and it gets managed out of him, especially when the football is mostly about the manager and the systems and the players are the pieces on the chessboard.

 

[ClockworkOrange]

I was impressed with Beach’s disposal. He’s been very assured and his long throw to Ira was magnificent.

 

[ClockworkOrange]

Its exciting watching Volpato and Bos running and beating defenders, Volpato with close ball control and Bos with control and speed.

But..... there was no end product.

Both I felt tried to beat one too many defenders.

Volpato reminds me of a young Brett Emerton BEFORE he went to England: taking on and beating defenders with great close ball control and touch.

Like Emerton, I wonder how long before a Popovic goes and says: "It looks nice but there/s not end product.." and it gets managed out of him, especially when the football is mostly about the manager and the systems and the players are the pieces on the chessboard.

Except Volpato is doing it at a WC, not in the NSL. The end product will come with a bit more experience and calmness at the critical moment.

 

[Mr Cleansheets]

I'm also seeing the emergence of a side with a very strong chance at the Asian Cup.

Our defence is great, we just need to improve our MF and sharpen that cutting edge.

 

[JS96]

Its exciting watching Volpato and Bos running and beating defenders, Volpato with close ball control and Bos with control and speed.

But..... there was no end product.

Both I felt tried to beat one too many defenders.

Volpato reminds me of a young Brett Emerton BEFORE he went to England: taking on and beating defenders with great close ball control and touch.

Like Emerton, I wonder how long before a Popovic goes and says: "It looks nice but there/s not end product.." and it gets managed out of him, especially when the football is mostly about the manager and the systems and the players are the pieces on the chessboard.

I agree and let's remember Paraguay are astute defenders and had a lot to lose.

If the circumstances were different we'd see stretchedines and lots of movement. I enjoyed seeing the combinations.

 

[ClockworkOrange]

I'm also seeing the emergence of a side with a very strong chance at the Asian Cup.

Our defence is great, we just need to improve our MF and sharpen that cutting edge.

And these players have barely played together.

 

[patjennings]

My heart rate has finally slowed...

I stand by my rating of Souttar and Circati as Men OTM. O'Neill did well, as did Herrington, and Bos was brilliant in the 2nd half.

Irvine did some very good things but also frustrated me with his dreadful touch.

Not sure about Irankunda up front but I hope Popa goes in with almost the same side in the next match. A bit of time together may have helped their next effort.

Toure for Metcalfe with Irankunda taking Metcalfe's spot. Nestory is not a target man and needs space to run into.

 

[Quicky]

Its exciting watching Volpato and Bos running and beating defenders, Volpato with close ball control and Bos with control and speed.

But..... there was no end product.

Both I felt tried to beat one too many defenders.

Volpato reminds me of a young Brett Emerton BEFORE he went to England: taking on and beating defenders with great close ball control and touch.

Like Emerton, I wonder how long before a Popovic goes and says: "It looks nice but there/s not end product.." and it gets managed out of him, especially when the football is mostly about the manager and the systems and the players are the pieces on the chessboard.

Credit to Paraguays defending. They pushed us into poor attacking areas. I think it was encouraging from Bos and Volpato and they'll build from it.

 

[Bbouy]

My heart rate has finally slowed...

I stand by my rating of Souttar and Circati as Men OTM. O'Neill did well, as did Herrington, and Bos was brilliant in the 2nd half.

Irvine did some very good things but also frustrated me with his dreadful touch.

Not sure about Irankunda up front but I hope Popa goes in with almost the same side in the next match. A bit of time together may have helped their next effort.

Irvine was excellent in the first-half but he started to get really annoying in the second-half. He just start booting the ball every-time instead of controlling it and restarting possession, little things like those are contributing to our possession struggles. A good team like France for example would never give the ball away that easily, just offering Paraguay to attack again. I really wish Robertson was here.

 

[RIMB]

That bloody soccer, its un-watchable. What with the cry babies rolling around on the ground all the time and the boring 0 to 0 scores.....
Just watch all the betting adds, they'll show ya.

The Mexican team wall is the first betting ad on soccer that was actually funny.

The rest annoy the shit out of me because of how they reinforce the stereotypes that have really killed our sport as a spectacle - not that the behavior does not deserve ridicule mind you.