Paraguay
AustraliaThe goalless draw at Levi's Stadium was shaped entirely by competing incentives — Australia needed only a draw and protected that requirement with calm efficiency; Paraguay needed a win but could not manufacture the creative spark that Almirón had provided throughout the tournament. The combined xG of 0.83 was the lowest in the competition to that point, and the scoreline faithfully reported the match it was measuring. Both sides found the result they were seeking: Australia advance to the round of thirty-two as Group D runners-up; Paraguay keep their World Cup alive as a third-placed team pending results from other groups.
Paraguay
Paraguay arrived without Miguel Almirón — suspended after his red card for covering his mouth against Turkey, the tournament's first dismissal for that offence — and produced exactly the match you would design around that absence: disciplined, compact, sporadically dangerous in transition, and unable to convert their limited chances against a resolute Australian block. Julio Enciso carried the creative burden Almirón had shouldered and found Paraguay's clearest opportunity — a low shot from inside the box in the 82nd minute that flashed wide of the left post. Mauricio tested Patrick Beach in stoppage time with a snap shot that went straight at the goalkeeper. The organisation held; the goal did not arrive.
Australia
Australia made six changes to their lineup and brought in 18-year-old Lucas Herrington for his tournament debut, setting up with the calm of a side that had a clear mathematical objective and the defensive capability to execute it. Patrick Beach was rarely troubled — the combined xG of the match was 0.83, the tournament's lowest — and Australia's closest moment to breaking the deadlock came when Jordan Bos split two defenders, drove into the box, and sent his shot fizzing past the far post. The Socceroos knew what they came for, played with the purpose of a team that controls its own destiny through the head-to-head tiebreaker, and collected the point that confirmed their passage to the round of thirty-two.