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Group D: Paraguay 0-0 Australia
Santa Clara: Australia qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage on Thursday after battling to a 0-0 draw with Paraguay in Santa Clara to claim second place in Group D.
The Socceroos, who defeated Turkey in their opening match before losing to the United States, were never seriously threatened on their way to securing a point to reach the last 32 at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in northern California.

The draw also left Paraguay firmly on course for the knockout rounds as one of the eight best third-placed teams in the group stage.

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The match began with a great deal of intensity and physicality, before Australia took control of the affair.

The Socceroos found luck down their right flank as Jordan Bos, Aiden O'Neill and Cristian Volpato combined well to get in behind a staunch Paraguay defence.
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Jackson Irvine tested Orlando Gill early, firing a fizzing shot at goal just three minutes into the match which the Paraguayan netminder was able to parry over the crossbar.

Bos, Volpato and O'Neill combined several more times in the first half, but they were unable to create clearcut chances for the energetic Nestory Irankunda.
Alfaro replaced Alexandro Maidana with Mauricio after the break, which sparked Paraguay momentarily, but the script remained largely the same in the second half.

Late in the match, Bos received the ball on the right win, skipped in between two defenders and loosed a shot that went just wide of the far post. It was one of the better chances in a game that had very few shots on target.
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Australia will face the runners-up from Group G in Dallas on July 3. Paraguay will wait on baited breath to see if they get at least one more match.

Sources: AFP, FIFA via Getty Images