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Paraguay and Australia drew 0-0 this Thursday at the , in a tightly contested match that determined the fate of Group D in the 2026 World Cup, leaving the Paraguayans in a position to advance to the Round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.
The match, corresponding to the third day of the group stage, was evenly contested but with Australian dominance in the statistics. The Oceanians controlled possession with 57% compared to Paraguay's 43%, took 11 shots compared to six from the South Americans, and had four attempts on target to just one from their rivals.
Despite that superiority in gameplay, neither team found a way to score. The scoreboard remained unchanged throughout the 90 minutes, and the draw particularly benefited Australia, which secured second place in the group, while Paraguay finished third with four points and was left awaiting the standings for the best third-placed teams.
In terms of incidents, Jackson Irvine received a yellow card for Australia in the 46th minute, while Diego Gómez received the same caution for Paraguay in the 77th. There were no expulsions.
Both teams made several substitutions in search of breaking the deadlock: Paraguay brought on Maurício Magalhães Prado at halftime to replace Alexandro Maidana, and then made further changes with Alex Arce, José Canale, Damian Bobadilla, and Junior Alonso. Australia responded by introducing Ajdin Hrustic, Paul Okon-Engstler, and Tete Yengi.
With the draw, was led by the United States with six points, despite losing 3-2 to Turkey in the simultaneous match held at SoFi Stadium. Australia finished in second place with four points, and Paraguay came in third, also with four points but with a goal difference of -2.
Turkey, which won its last match, finished the group in last place with three points and was eliminated.
For Paraguay, the result holds a special significance: the Guarani were close to advancing to the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time since South Africa 2010, 16 years later, finishing as one of the candidates to progress among the eight best third-placed teams in a tournament format that allocates 32 spots for the next round.
The path of Paraguay in the group stage was irregular: defeat 4-1 to the United States in the first match with a hat-trick from Folarin Balogun, victory over Turkey in the second match, and the draw against Australia that set them on track for qualification.
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