A sea of green and gold has swamped Federation Square hours before Australia’s high-stakes World Cup clash with Paraguay, forcing the gates to be opened early.
Fans braved a chilly morning to queue before sunrise, and the live site quickly reached capacity. Crowd controllers have resorted to megaphones to send hundreds more Socceroos supporters down the Yarra to watch the game on the big screen at AAMI Park.
Federation Square resembled an outdoor nightclub as fans, many in their late teens and early 20s, revved themselves up in the countdown to the 12pm kick-off.
A DJ had fans jumping to a mix of Australian favourites and classic hits, including Men at Work’s anthemic Down Under, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond and Gala’s Freed From Desire.
Elsewhere in Melbourne’s CBD, workers donned Socceroos scarves and shirts on their way to the office.
Charlie Nagy came into the CBD last week for the Socceroos’ 0-2 loss to the US. He and two friends left his Watsonia home at 7.30am to secure a spot again for Friday’s clash but were too late.
They were still hoping to bag a spot inside. “I’ll be behind the barrier, don’t worry,” he said.“We’ll make the party,” he said.
Jeremy Lawler, 18, said his parents supported him skipping the last day of term to watch the Socceroos with mates.
“It’s so loud but everyone’s just cheering on each other,” he said.
The mood is jubilant, with groups frequently breaking out into chants.
“It’s an absolutely crazy atmosphere,” Rocco Colaci said.
He and mate Sinan Ucar were relieved to make it into Federation Square after lining up since 7am.
A much smaller group of Japanese supporters gathered in the neighbouring Transport bar to watch their team draw 1-1 against Sweden and book a berth in the knockout stage as the second-placed nation from group F.
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Rachel Ward is an Australian director and screenwriter.From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
