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The only thing missing was a goal as the Socceroos dominated possession and looked far more threatening in attack, but couldn’t crack a stubborn Paraguay in Santa Clara as their final World Cup Group D group stage game finished scoreless.
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Australia, who sealed second spot with the result, now moves on to a Round of 32 clash in Dallas next week against the side who finishes second in group G.
These are the player ratings out of 10.
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PATRICK BEACH – 8
Beach retained his spot in goal for the third match in a row. He was calm, involved in build-up play and is looking right at home between the sticks. Didn’t have a massive amount to do but was safe when called into action.
JORDAN BOS – 9
Jordan Bos can play right back. In-fact, Jordan Bos can probably play anywhere given the evidence of this performance. The Feyenoord fullback shifted flanks to cover the loss of the injured Jacob Italiano and was a constant threat. This could be the solution to a tricky problem for Popovic. He was able to drift wide or take up more inverted positions and combined well with Cristian Volpato.
ALESSANDRO CIRCATI – 9
Alessandro Circati proved why he is currently on the radar of several big-name clubs. His positioning was on point once again and he rarely lost a one-on-one duel. The guy is destined for big things.
Proud Popovic ready for Dallas | 01:27
HARRY SOUTTAR – 8.5
The captain didn’t have a lot to do with the action generally occurring to his left and right. Still, this was more minutes in the bank for a player who, in reality, is still in the early stages of his comeback from a ruptured achilles. How assured he has looked at the World Cup so far has hidden this fact a little.
LUCAS HERRINGTON – 8.5
Lucas Herrington is now the youngest player to start a match for the Socceroos at a World Cup. The new mark is 18 years and 293 days and it will take some beating. He launched into two huge challenges in the first half and won the ball both times against seasoned professionals. His decision making under pressure with and without the ball resembles a player well beyond his years.
AZIZ BEHICH – 8
What a luxury it is for Australia to have a player with the drive, experience and skill of Aziz Behich to call on. Behich started at left back with Jordy Bos shifting to the right and between them they fixed a giant Jacob Italiano sized hole in the process.
AIDEN O’NEILL – 8.5
You almost don’t notice the work Aiden O’Neill does but you’d miss it if it wasn’t there. He creates space for other players (Jackson Irvine was in large pockets for most of the game as a result) and works incredibly hard in defence. The game came to him a lot more in the second half. Mr reliable does it again.
JACKSON IRVINE – 8.5
Jackson Irvine came into the starting side for Paul Okon-Engstler. Okon-Engstler didn’t do anything wrong to lose his place in the starting side, but Irvine had also banged the door down in his appearances as a substitute. He wins balls he shouldn’t and laid off several smart passes under immense pressure.
CONNOR METCALFE – 7.5
Connor Metcalfe copped a boot to the head in the first half and was a little isolated. Most of Australia’s best moments came down the right instead of his left-hand side. He didn’t do anything wrong.
NESTORY IRANKUNDA – 8.5
The most dangerous Nestory Irankunda has looked so far at this tournament has been as a winger. He started at striker and looked lively at the beginning of the match, but in this role, he needs to rely on the brilliance of others to get him the ball in good areas and that didn’t quite happen often enough in the first 45. Irankunda got himself into the game much more in the second-half and looked a threat.
CRISTIAN VOLPATO – 8.5
This was a solid first start in a World Cup for a player who really could be something special. He’s on the way to being that already. Volpato has a superb knack of beating his man and did that multiple times. When the game wasn’t coming to him he also drifted centrally to find the ball. Pleasingly, he also worked incredibly hard in defence as well. Tony Popovic substituted him just before the hour mark.
AJDIN HRUSTIC – 8
Ajdin Hrustic came on for Cristian Volpato in the 58th minute and combined well with Jackson Irvine and Jordy Bos. Hrustic is a very handy option to have coming off the bench.
TETE YENGI – 7.5
Came on in the 84th minute and looked good in the small amount of time he had on the pitch.
PAUL OKON-ENGSTLER – 7
A late substitute appearance after a huge few weeks. Didn’t really have time to put a mark on the game.
