Socceroos Secure 0-0 Draw with Paraguay, Advance to World Cup Knockout Round

Good afternoon. It wasn’t pretty and had moments of peril, but the Socceroos have secured a 0-0 draw with Paraguay, booking them a place in the World Cup knockout round for the third time in their history. About 12,000 Australians watched the match in the San Francisco Bay Area stadium, while thousands went to live sites in Australian cities to bite their nails through 90 nerve-shredding minutes. Australia’s opponent in the next round is yet to be determined, with four teams – Egypt, Iran, Belgium and the Kiwis – all possible match ups. Tony Popovic, the Socceroos’ coach, said after the match he was proud of the entire travelling party. “The staff, the players – just a wonderful young group of men – and now we go to Dallas and we’ll try and do something special,” he said.