World Cup: Why Socceroos won't be playing for a draw against Paraguay

Australia goes into its final World Cup group stage game knowing a point will seal second spot in group D, and a trip to Dallas for a knockout game.

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But Australia will not settle for anything less than a win when it meets Paraguay.

"We know a point is going to get us second spot, basically. That's for all to see," said defender Jason Geria.

"You're short-changing the game in a way if you're looking to just call a truce with 10 minutes to go.

"That doesn't seem right in my opinion. I don't think it's in us to just concede or take the foot off the gas.

"We want to win every game, regardless of who the opponent is or what the situation is."

Because Turkiye is eliminated under the new way FIFA is ranking teams and with the tournament expanded to 48 nations, Australia would likely advance even if they lose.

But as assistant coach Paul Okon Sr said, playing for a draw is a risk the Socceroos simply can't take.

"I don't think we're good enough to go into a game from the first minute, trying to play for a draw," Okon Sr said.

"It's never happened before. We've never been in that situation. So it would be really difficult to say 'okay boys, today we don't need to score, so just make sure you draw the game'.

"It hasn't been spoken about."

Yellow cards loom

Australia also has a card issue to deal with as it navigates Paraguay, with four defenders currently one yellow away from a suspension.

Players who receive two yellow cards in the group stage automatically receive a one-match ban for the next game their country plays, even if it is in the knockout rounds.

In previous tournaments, players only had their yellow cards expunged after the quarterfinals, which was designed to ensure no player would miss the final by accumulating too many yellows.

At the 2026 edition, players will have their record wiped at the end of the group stage, and after the quarterfinals.

But any suspension accrued in the group stage will still apply in the first knockout stage.

That means if Jacob Italiano, Alessandro Circati, Harry Souttar or Jordy Bos receive a yellow card against Paraguay, they will miss Australia's first knockout stage game.

But Geria is adamant that will not change the way his teammates play.

"You can't really play the game like that. You can't really play with the handbrake sort of up," he said.

"You have a yellow card again, you've got it in the back of your mind, but you still need to go out there and play to the maximum."

Putting the USA behind them

Australia's first-half performance and subsequent two-nil defeat against the USA has dominated discussion in the build-up to the game against Paraguay.

But the Socceroos are confident they can put the disappointment of the opening 45 minutes in Seattle behind them.

"We had one half of football where we weren't up to where we would like to be and where the opponent was probably better than us," Geria said.

"But we played three halves [including the Turkiye game] out of four where we've been up to a really, really high standard.

"We're in a really good position still. You know, a draw, we finished second. One point, we finish second. I think that's a really great position to be in."

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