{"id":777921,"date":"2026-07-04T05:31:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/777921\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T05:31:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T05:31:20","slug":"socceroos-world-cup-match-thousands-of-fans-pack-federation-square-for-early-morning-clash-against-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/777921\/","title":{"rendered":"Socceroos World Cup match: Thousands of fans pack Federation Square for early morning clash against Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated July 4, 2026 \u2014 9:09am,first published 4:15am<\/p>\n

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Melburnians cried early on Saturday as thousands descended on the CBD in the middle of the night to watch Australia\u2019s heartbreaking World Cup loss to Egypt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Federation Square was declared full hours before the match as dozens of police and security guards closely watched rowdy fans and quickly doused a handful of flares that were set alight.<\/p>\n

\"FansFans watch the Socceroos at Fed Square.Luis Enrique Ascui<\/p>\n

Pubs and bars were also busy after Premier Jacinta Allan allowed licensed venues to operate while Australia played, despite most normally being forced to close before the 4am kick-off on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Queues outside Fed Square began forming about 11pm on Friday, but supporters left quickly when Hossam Abdelmaguid scored the winning penalty just before 7am on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Some Socceroos fans shed tears while a small contingent of Egyptian fans celebrated among the dejected green and gold throng.<\/p>\n

Earlier, a few young men were taken away by police after flares were set off during the match.<\/p>\n

But authorities did not appear to have the same problems with crowd behaviour as they did during the last late-night World Cup fixture at the venue on June 20<\/a>, when some fans rushed and breached a barrier.<\/p>\n

Police said 7500 fans attended live site this time, while another 6000 watched at AAMI Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cOfficers were generally pleased with the behaviour of crowds during the game, despite being disappointed with the score during the penalty shootout,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEleven flares and one smoke emitter were activated during the game, including six flares which were lit and thrown after the Socceroos scored their first goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FedFed Square was rocking as thousands watched the Socceroos.Luis Enrique Ascui<\/p>\n

Three men and a teenager were arrested for possessing flares, police said. One man was also arrested for possessing a distress signal and discharging a missile.<\/p>\n

They were all released and the men are expected to be charged on summons.<\/p>\n

Two people were issued with penalty notices after security guards found weapons on them at the entrance to AAMI Park. Two people were also directed to leave the venue after entering the pitch.<\/p>\n

Osama Shahin, meanwhile, was delighted with the result as he celebrated while draped in an Egyptian flag at Fed Square.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you grow up in Egypt, soccer is everything,\u201d said Shahin, who moved to Australia aged 10. \u201cTo win our first knockout stage match is pretty big.\u201d<\/p>\n

Socceroos supporters had been jubilant just after 5am when Australia equalised through an own goal, unleashing a sea of flailing limbs as the crowd heaved between Fed Square\u2019s temporary steel barricades.<\/p>\n

Steve Gannell of Tacoma was among the mob, and one of many who did not sleep on Friday night.<\/p>\n

He picked up his friends in Berwick and went straight into the city in time for Fed Square\u2019s gates to open about 1.30am.<\/p>\n

\"SteveSteve Gannell, of Tacoma in the Dandenong Ranges, at Federation Square.Alexander Darling<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was gonna be really cold tonight, so why not [wear] a onesie?\u201d he said, explaining his green and gold outfit.<\/p>\n

Jon Croft, from Hillside, also lined up from 11pm to get in. \u201cIt\u2019s the atmosphere,\u201d he said when asked why he came.<\/p>\n

Andre Tran was one of the few dejected Socceroos supporters who hung around for a little while after the end of the match and Australia\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs devastated as I am,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019m so glad that at a place like Fed Square we could all experience an opportunity like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SocceroosSocceroos fan Andre Tran at Federation Square after the loss.Lachlan Abbott<\/p>\n

The Socceroos\u2019 loss, however, means Tran may have to wait another four years for a similar experience.<\/p>\n

Workers began taking packing up the Fed Square live site as soon as dawn broke on Saturday.<\/p>\n

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\"LachlanLachlan Abbott<\/a> is a crime reporter at The Age. He was previously a city reporter and covered breaking news.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated July 4, 2026 \u2014 9:09am,first published 4:15am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-777921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}