The ‘D’ in Group D might as well stand for Dallas.
As the pieces to the World Cup‘s knockout round fall into place, Australia sealed its spot as the second-place team in Group D on Thursday and will kick off the knockout stage at Dallas Stadium in Arlington. The Socceroos will square off against an opponent to be named later at 1 p.m. on July 3.
Australia will face the second-place team in Group G, which is yet to play its final group game. Any of the four Group G teams — Egypt, Iran, Belgium or New Zealand — could end up in second place after Friday’s group stage finale. The possibility of Egyptian star Mohamed Salah coming to Dallas would intrigue North Texas soccer fans as well as continue the pattern of D-FW getting some heavy star power in its World Cup games.
Australia made its way to second place in Group D via a win over Turkiye and the draw with Paraguay, finishing with four points. Australia entered the tournament ranked by FIFA as the 28th-best team in the world.