Paraguay | Pakistan

Australia booked their place in the World Cup’s round of 32 on Thursday with a cagey 0-0 draw against Paraguay that delighted pragmatic coach Tony Popovic but left the South Americans with a nervous wait to see if they will advance. In a physical, scrappy contest at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Paraguay pushed late after being dominated early but it ended with the Socceroos holding on to make the tournament’s knockout phase for a third time, four years after reaching the last 16 in Qatar. Popovic’s team sealed second place in Group D behind the United States and will head to Dallas to meet the second-placed team in Group G, which remains wide open before Egypt face Iran and Belgium meet New Zealand on Friday. It was hardly a performance that will have Australia’s next opponents shaking in their boots, but players and staff celebrated with hugs and back-slapping, and soaked up a warm ovation from thousands of lingering Aussie fans. “I’d like to think that we dominated the game in a crucial World Cup qualifi...

The United States opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday, powered by a first-half double from striker Folarin Balogun, but the victory was tempered by concern over the fitness of Christian Pulisic. The emphatic Group D win marked a dream start for the co-hosts, whose four goals were their most ever in a World Cup match. Balogun became the first US player to score twice in a World Cup game since the 1930 tournament. “Amazing result,” US captain Tim Ream said. “It’s exactly the way we wanted to start the tournament.” The US broke through Paraguay’s vaunted defence in the seventh minute when Pulisic deftly split two players and found Weston McKennie, whose cross was kicked into the net by Damian Bobadilla for an own goal. Shortly after the first-half hydration break, Pulisic raced with the ball up the left side and sent a perfect cross to Balogun, who angled his shot past the diving goalkeeper Orlando Gill for a 2-0 lead. Balogun struck again on the stroke of halftime, taking a lo...