When are the Socceroos playing Paraguay?

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• Socceroos v Paraguay is Friday June 26, 12pm AEST

Australia kicked off its FIFA World Cup 2026™ campaign with an unexpected 2-0 win over Turkiye in Vancouver last week.

The score line was then flipped on them by the USA in a vicious clash in Seattle, which means the co-hosts go through as group winners but the Socceroos still have everything to play for in their final Group D match.

Tony Popovic's side will meet the South American side on Friday Jun 26 at 12pm AEST and you can listen live on SEN!

We will be bringing all the news ahead of the do-or-die clash from 10am AEST with Jordan Kounelis and Archie Thompson before Simon Hill and Andy Harper call the match in Santa Clara.

Win against Paraguay

Australia would have a clear separation from Paraguay with six points, which sees them equal the best points total by a senior Australian side at a FIFA World Cup™.

This will see them play their Round of 32 clash in Dallas Stadium on Saturday, July 4 (AEST time) with kick-off at 4am.

That would be against the runner-up of Group G (Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand), which is currently a four-way tie, with each side managing one point from their first matches.

If things stayed the same by the end of the group stage, Iran would be the team standing in the way of the Socceroos' first-ever knockout win in the tournament.

However, it should become clearer when Group G play their second round of matches on Monday morning with Belgium v Iran and New Zealand v Egypt.

Potential opponents: Belgium, Egypt, Iran or New Zealand

Draw

Even with four points, Australia would qualify for the knockouts as the second-best team in Group D despite Paraguay having the same amount.

This is due to the Socceroos having a superior goal difference to Paraguay, largely thanks to the USA's 4-1 win against the South American side in their first match.

Again, they would play the runner-up of Group G in Dallas on July 4.

Potential opponents: Belgium, Egypt, Iran or New Zealand

Lose

If Australia suffers the same fate as Turkiye did on Saturday, then their place in the knockouts is dependent on how the rest of the 12 groups finish up.

With the expanded 48-team format and the introduction of the Round of 32, the eight third-place teams with the most points make it through to the second stage of the tournament.

With Australia on three points and a negative goal difference in this scenario (currently on +/-0), they on probability, according to Opta Analyst should progress...so long as it's not a significant defeat.

Catch all the Socceroos action on SEN, Australia's official radio broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup 2026™.