Australia make six changes for Paraguay World Cup clash

26 Jun 2026, 01:14 · CNA · Join

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Australia v Turkey - BC Place, Vancouver, Canada - June 13, 2026 Australia's Nestory Irankunda celebrates after the match REUTERS/Albert Gea

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Paraguay v Australia - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 25, 2026 Paraguay fans outside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group D - Paraguay v Australia - San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Santa Clara, California, U.S. - June 25, 2026 Australia fans outside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

SANTA CLARA, California, June 25 : Australia recalled Nestory Irankunda in one of six changes for Thursday's World Cup Group D match against Paraguay, who are without the suspended Miguel Almiron.

• Both teams are on equal points and competing for second spot in the group, with the United States already through to the next round as winners and Turkey eliminated.

• Socceroos coach Tony Tony Popovic shook up his front line, dropping Mohamed Toure and Nishan Velupillay and bringing in Irankunda and Cristian Volpato.

• Strasbourg's Julio Enciso is in the Paraguay attack for his third game of the tournament.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

• Australia are missing both Jacob Italiano and Mathew Leckie to injuries.

• Forward Gabriel Avalos comes into the Paraguay side in place of Isidro Pitta, among three changes by coach Gustavo Alfaro.

Lineups:

Australia: Patrick Beach, Alessandro Circati, Jordan Bos, Connor Metcalfe, Aiden O'Neill, Aziz Behich, Nestory Irankunda, Harry Souttar, Cristian Volpato, Jackson Irvine, Lucas Herrington.

Paraguay: Orlando Gill, Gustavo Velazquez, Omar Alderete, Juan Jose Caceres, Diego Gomez, Andres Cubas, Gustavo Gomez, Julio Enciso, Gabriel Avalos, Matias Galarza, Alexandro Maidana.

Australia make six changes for Paraguay World Cup clash

Recommended Read

Sign up for our newsletters

Get the CNA app