Key events
Elsewhere in Group E, Ivory Coast did enough to finish second and end Curacao’s fairytale.
An underwhelming 2-0 victory, courtesy of Nicolas Pépé’s double, put the Ivorians through to the last 32 as group runners-up. But it was an imprecise contest here in Philadelphia, the cradle of American democracy – such as it is. All the same, a spirited Curaçao leave their first World Cup.
The most consequential match of the day so far has seen Ecuador storm back to defeat the previously unbeaten Germans and snatch their place in the round of 32.
Despite a flat start to their World Cup campaign, there was a genuine belief that an upset against a full-strength Germany was possible. They had no other choice: having been shut out by Eloy Room’s heroics for Curaçao, Sebastián Beccacece’s side had to win to progress. Gonzalo Plata’s 77th-minute strike sparked wild and emotional celebrations, assuring their place in the last 32 as a best third-placed team – and a first knockout match since 2006.
Let’s start the roundup with the Pod Squad dealing with a bumper six-game matchday, one dominated by Scotland’s hammering by Brazil.
Feel free to keep me company by emailing your thoughts about today’s match, and anything related to the World Cup to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of match 60 of the 2026 World Cup between Paraguay and Australia. Kick-off at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium is 7pm local time (10pm EDT / 3am BST / 12pm AEST).
It all comes down to this in Group D.
The USA are through as group winners. Turkey are on their way home in last place. In between, Australia and Paraguay are jostling for second place, and the prize of guaranteed qualification to the knockout phase, or third place, and an anxious wait to see how the chips fall elsewhere.
An Australia win guarantees the Socceroos a round of 32 clash in Dallas, most likely against Egypt or Iran (but possibly Belgium or New Zealand). It also pushes Paraguay close to elimination with their poor goal difference and disciplinary record counting heavily against them in the battle to be ranked one of the eight best third-place teams.
A Paraguay win guarantees them that trip to Texas, but as long as Australia don’t lose by more than one goal, they should also be confident of continued participation, only without immediate confirmation.
A draw suits both sides with Australia qualifying in second, Paraguay third.
The incentives for both teams to secure only a draw suggest this evening’s spectacle may not be one for fans of open attacking football. Neither coach will publicly admit it, of course (and there will be no hint of collusion) but it’s human nature to pursue loss aversion.
When the draw was made both these teams would have expected to be in a scrap for third place at best, each will be delighted with their position at kick-off and it would be an enormous surprise if either put that status in jeopardy by playing anything other than conservatively.
I’ll be back shortly with team news and a roundup of all the matchday action so far. In the meantime you can keep an eye on the conclusion of Group F, with the Netherlands, Japan, and Sweden, jostling for to spot.
