The Socceroos’ path at the World Cup got a lot murkier on Friday morning after Ecuador scored a stunning 2-1 win over heavyweights Germany and Sweden secured a draw with Japan. But thankfully Australia advanced as the second-place finisher and don’t have to worry about the scenarios of finishing third.
The Socceroos advanced to the Round of 32 with a 0-0 draw against Paraguay on Friday afternoon (AEST), which means they finish second in Group D. They still could have potentially progressed with a loss, but things got a little trickier with Ecuador’s stunning win over Germany and a 1-1 draw between Japan and Sweden.
Ecuador’s win over Germany makes things trickier for the Socceroos. Image: Getty
It means Ecuador and Sweden finish third in Group E and F respectively on four points, joining Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group B) as a third-place finisher on four. Only the top eight third-place finishers will go through.
With Ecuador, Sweden and Bosnia and Herzegovina all now on four points, it means a third-place finisher on three points will face a nervous wait to see if they advance, but the Socceroos have now avoided that headache.
One person had written on social media: “This Ecuador v Germany result is terrible for the Socceroos.” It meant a win or draw for Popovic’s side was more important than ever, and they delivered with a solid performance to finish 0-0 with Paraguay.
Crazy scenes after Ecuador shock Germany
There were wild scenes after Ecuador stunned heavyweights Germany, with players in tears and coach Sebastian Beccacece celebrating with his family in the stands. “The significance of this is not for me, it is for the people,” Beccacece said after the win.
“The players gave a huge happiness to the people. We have to enjoy it and celebrate, please.”
Sebastian Beccacece celebrates with Piero Hincapie after Ecuador’s win over Germany at the World Cup.
(Patrick Smith – FIFA via Getty Images)
Germany had already secured top spot in the group, but coach Julian Nagelsmann lamented his side’s “tactical suicide” against Ecuador. “We got off to a great start,” Nagelsmann said.
“Unfortunately, right after scoring, we started committing tactical suicide with our positioning. That makes things difficult. Ecuador had everything to play for, and you could tell – they had their foot on the gas.”
Socceroos swing changes against Ecuador
Tony Popovic made six changes to his starting XI against Paraguay. The Socceroos lost Jacob Italiano and Mat Leckie for their final group game, with both ruled out injured.
Mo Toure, Cameron Burgess, Paul Okon-Engstler and Nishan Velupillay were all dropped, with Nestory Irankunda, Lucas Herrington, Connor Metcalfe, Christian Volpato, Jackson Irvine and Aziz Behich recalled to start. Irankunda and Metcalfe were controversially benched in the 2-0 loss to USA.