We count down to kick-off in Santa Clara
What might await Socceroos and how they can advance
With the final group stage matches under way, Australia’s chances of progressing through to the knockout stages will fluctuate with every goal. But the situation remains that their World Cup fate is very much in their own hands.
Sports analytics company Opta now has them as a 92 per cent chance of making the round of 32.
Win: A second-place finish would have Australia play their round of 32 match in Dallas on July 4 (AEST) against the runner-up of Group G. Belgium is second in Group G at present, after being held to draws in their matches against Iran and Egypt – the Europeans play New Zealand in their final match. The other match is Egypt against Iran, and it is possible that any team in this group could finish second.
What’s happening in the 6am matches?
Let’s catch up quickly on the matches that are now under way because they are crazy.
It’s Germany and Ecuador going head-to-head in New York at present, while Curacao and the Ivory Coast are playing in Philadelphia.
In the opening nine minutes – across both of those matches – we had three goals.
In New York, it was Germany’s Leroy Sane who scored the opener in the second minute. I bet Germany were pretty chuffed about that. But Ecuador hit back through Nilson Angulo in the ninth minute, and the score in that match reads 1-1 after 24 minutes.
Italiano ruled out of Paraguay showdown
One player you won’t see take to the pitch today is defender Jacob Italiano, who was ruled out yesterday with a groin injury.
Unfortunately, Italiano is expected to miss the rest of the tournament, further exposing the lack of available depth in what has been the team’s long-term problem position.
It’s the second forced change that Popovic will need to make to his starting line-up, with Mathew Leckie (hamstring) also unable to back up from Australia’s 2-0 defeat to the United States.
We count down to kick-off in Santa Clara
Welcome
Good morning, Socceroos fans, and welcome to another day of our World Cup coverage.
It’s a big day for Tony Popovic and his Socceroos, who play Paraguay in the third and final of their group stage matches at 12pm today.
Billie Eder here to take you through all the action this morning as we count down to kick-off, with Frances Howe and Emma Kemp joining me a little later.
Once again, we have Vince Rugari and Nick Ralston on the ground in the US to bring you insights and news from the stadium in Santa Clara.
We have four matches to bring you until then, along with plenty of news from Socceroos camp to quench your football thirst.
Let’s get cracking.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
