SANTA CLARA – One group-stage match remains at Levi’s Stadium before the United States’ squad and its growing bandwagon show next Wednesday for a Round of 32 showcase, likely against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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The stakes remain great, however, when Australia and Paraguay meet Thursday at 7 p.m. on the 49ers’ home field.
“We love the position we’re in, that we can go through to the knockout stages,” Australia coach Tony Popović said Wednesday. “We know it’s in our hands.”
A win or a draw will send Australia through as the Group D runner-up, likely on to Boston or Dallas. The Alameda-based Socceroos are 1-1 with an even goal differential, having surprised Turkey 2-0 before last Friday’s 2-0 defeat to the U.S. in Seattle.
Paraguay, with San Jose State as its base camp, also enters 1-1. After a 4-1 loss to the U.S. in Inglewood on June 12, La Albirroja knocked off Turkey 1-0 at Levi’s Stadium last Friday night.
Paraguay won behind a second-minute goal from Matias Galarza and overcame a man-down deficit after halftime, the result of Miguel Almirón’s verbal-abuse ejection for covering his mouth. Almirón thus will miss this game, too.
“The World Cup is very complex, very challenging,” Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro said. “I told the players it’s really hard to get a win in the World Cup and maybe other teams don’t have so many difficulties, but we do.”
Alfaro’s rallying cry is that this could be Paraguay’s first World Cup with two wins, even though its last appearance in 2010 produced a group-stage victory and then a shootout win over Japan to reach the quarterfinals, where it fell to Spain 1-0.
Australia is a young, physical and tall team that will be without defender Jacob Italiano, who’s out with an adductor injury recently sustained in practice.
“In the second half, Australia was pressuring the U.S. and made the U.S. uncomfortable,” Alfaro said. “When they went up in the pitch, they were coordinated in their pressure. … We need to be very calm and very cautious.”
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“This match might be more of a counterattack so we’ll have to be very much aware,” Paraguay midfielder Andres Cubas added. “But if that’s the way it goes, we need to handle the ball in the midfield and try to create spaces. We have the players to do it.”
As for Paraguay’s fresh taste of victory here, “I don’t think it gives them an advantage in any way,” Australia defender Alessandro Circati said. “It’s a game of football. It goes two ways. We’re very excited and try to go out and get second in the table.”
Popović said his side must be especially wary of Paraguay striker Julio Enciso, who assisted both of their World Cup goals, including Mauricio’s 73rd-minute score against the U.S.
Circati and the Socceroos came on Wednesday for a brief orientation at sunny Levi’s Stadium (70 degrees). No balls were kicked around, but a first impression was made about a pitch that’s cropped tighter than a Pebble Beach fairway yet in impressive shape after four games over 11 days.
“Looked at the grass and it is a little bit different,” Circati said. “The grass is a little bit shorter. But I’m not a groundsman. I don’t know what to tell you about specifics. It’s cut a little but shorter. But the ball should move nicely. It’s a great grass. The ball will move quickly and hopefully we’ll put on a show.”
Popović commended the Bay Area for the show its put on this far, with his team having stayed at The Claremont in Berkeley’s hills and practiced at the old Oakland Raiders’ facility in Alameda.
“The people have been fantastic, as has the hospitality. We’ve really enjoyed being here,” Popović said. “We want to stay longer so we’ll do our very best tomorrow to stay in this area a little longer.”
Through four games, 10 goals have been scored at Levi’s Stadium, with an average crowd of 68,422 (405 shy of capacity). Paraguay’s 1-0 win over Turkey drew the only full house. The others: 67,966 for the Qatar-Switzerland 1-1 draw; 68,527 for Austria’s 3-1 win over Jordan; and 68,371 for Algeria’s 2-1 elimination of Turkey.
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