Live sites erupt in celebration as Socceroos seal place in knockout round
Socceroos fans have celebrated across the country after a tense draw against Paraguay secured the Aussie team’s spot in the knock-out stage of the FIFA World Cup.
Hoards of fans at Melbourne’s Federation Square erupted in cheers at the final whistle just before 2pm AEST, as the Socceroos advanced to the tournament’s round of 32 for just the third time ever.
Fans watch the FIFA World Cup match between the Socceroos and Paraguay on the big screen at Federation Square on June 26, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images
Around 7500 of Socceroos hopefuls swarmed the public viewing site this morning, eager for the gates to open at 10.30 for the midday kick-off.
But with the venue already at capacity before kick-off even began, police and security ushered large crowds down to second viewing location AAMI Park instead.
A minority of eager fans failed to listen to venue demands not to bring flares to the venue, with seven flares set off at Federation Square across the day.
Seven flares were set off at Federation Square, which police said is the responsibility of the venue to enforce. Getty Images
A 16-year-old boy was arrested and is expected to be charged on summons, Victoria Police said.
“Police will review CCTV in an effort to determine those responsible for setting off the remaining flares,” a police spokesperson said.
Three other teens, aged 14, 15 and 19 were given penalty notices for riotous behaviour and made to leave the live site.
The Socceroos are now set for a knockout clash in Dallas at 4am AEST on Saturday against the runner-up in Group G, which is likely to be Iran or Belgium.
Fans watch the FIFA World Cup match between the Socceroos and Paraguay on the big screen at Tumbalong Park. Getty Images
Thousands of fans congregated at sites both locally and around the world, to cheer their team to victory.
For those cheering the Socceroos on locally, fan sites were bursting across the country.
In NSW soccer fans celebrated at Tumbalong Park, Cathy Freeman Park, Parramatta Square, Blacktown Football Park, Cirillo Reserve, Dyin Ngurra (Merrylands Civic Square) and North Bondi Park.
Fans arrived at Federation Square in Melbourne nice and early. Justin McManus
In Victoria, there were fan sites at Federation Square, AAMI Park, Marvel Stadium and Broadmeadows Town Hall car park.
In Queensland, fans donned green and gold at South Bank, while in South Australia, Adelaide’s The Drive is the place to be.
In Western Australia, fans gathered at Northbridge Piazza and in the Top End, Darwin Football Stadium hosted a viewing party, while fans in the capital headed to University of Canberra Refectory and Garema Place and in Tasmania, Odeon was the official local fan site.
Socceroos fans gather at the fan site at Sydney's Tumbalong Park ahead of their FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay. Today
Today foreign correspondent, Lauren Tomasi was on the ground in Santa Clara, California, where a hoard of Aussies in green and gold were preparing to march their way to the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, where their team will hopefully knock out Paraguay’s La Albirroja and secure a placement in the next round.
However, locally hundreds of Socceroos fans were also lined up to the gates at Federation Square in Melbourne this morning, hours before the midday (local time) kick-off.
Socceroos fans gather at Sydney's Darling Harbour to secure a spot ahead of kick-off. Nine
A strong security presence has remained at the site to ensure fans behave themselves regardless of the outcome from today’s game.
Today cameras captured footage of full drink bottles being thrown among the restless fans, with concerns for the safety of those at the centre of the burgeoning crowd.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has already been a raging success so far, with crowd numbers of 3.6 million surpassing the previous record set in 1994.
The record was broken during yesterday’s match between Ecuador and Germany, which was played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, before a crowd of 80,663 spectators.
The number of attendees at that game boosted the total attendance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches to 3,605,357, setting a new all-time record, according to FIFA officials.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is also on track to reach the highest stadium occupancy rate in its history, currently sitting at 99.7 per cent.
An estimated 15,500 Australians have travelled overseas to celebrate the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with the actual stadium presence predicted to be even higher.
At the start of the tournament, Australia ranked in the top 10 nations globally for ticket purchases, joining host countries US, Canada and Mexico, as well as other major footballing nations.
