Australia clinch Round of 32 spot as Paraguay await best-third place fate

Australia took the point it needed and Paraguay took only uncertainty, as a scoreless draw in Santa Clara sent the Socceroos into the Round of 32 and left the Guaraní side clinging to a best-third-place berth.

The 0-0 result came on 25 June 2026 at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in the closing match of Group D at the expanded 48-team World Cup. Australia finished second in the group on four points and advanced directly, while Paraguay finished third on four points and moved into the comparison table for the eight best third-place teams.

That table is now Paraguay’s only route forward. In this World Cup format, the top two teams from each of the 12 groups qualify automatically for the Round of 32, and the other eight places go to the best third-place finishers. Paraguay’s four points keep the door open, but its place depends on how third-place sides finish across the other groups, with goal difference and other tie-breakers likely to matter if teams end level on points.

FIFA had already flagged that Group D had not developed as many expected, and the final game reflected that drift from pre-tournament assumptions. Its official match report said Australia spent more of the game on the front foot, while Paraguay held its shape and defended with firmness to preserve the draw. The match never opened up into a wide-ranging attack-and-counterattack contest, but the stalemate was enough to separate a team that moved on from one left waiting.

For Australia, the point delivered a place in the knockout phase for the third time in its World Cup history. For Paraguay, it set up a tense wait on results elsewhere, with the final shape of the third-place standings now deciding whether four points is enough to extend its run.