The Socceroos will face Egypt in the Round of 32 after the African nation were saved by a dramatic VAR decision in stoppage time of their 1-1 draw with Iran.
Belgium claimed top spot in Group G with a 5-1 thrashing of New Zealand, but Iran thought they had second place secured when they found the back of the net in the 93rd minute.
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It looked like Australia would have a shot at redemption for the infamous 1997 World Cup qualifier before VAR denied the goal due to a very tight offside.
Instead, Egypt finished second as they advanced to the knockouts at a World Cup for the first time.
But a fitness cloud now hangs over their biggest star in what could be a huge boost to Australia’s chances of winning a knockout game for the first time.
While Iran must wait to see if they are one of the best eight third place finishers.
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Earlier in the day, the tournament’s feel good story Cabo Verde advanced to the knockouts in their World Cup debut at the expense of Uruguay.
The tiny island nation produced shock draws in the opening two matches and secured another point against Saudi Arabia to make it out of the group.
World Cup favourites France flexed their muscles with a big win against Group I rivals Norway, while former Socceroos boss Graham Arnold’s campaign with Iraq came to a disappointing end.
Fans were denied the chance to watch two of the game’s biggest superstars go head-to-head as Norway coach Stale Solbakken left Erling Haaland on the bench – perhaps denting the Manchester City star’s quest for the golden boot too.
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KIWIS THRASHED AS WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN ENDS
Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1 to book their place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup on Friday, securing their first win of the tournament to finish on top of Group G in Vancouver.
A double strike from Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard and goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers carried the Red Devils into the last 32 in first place ahead of Egypt on goal difference.
Egypt claimed the runners-up spot after a 1-1 draw with Iran in Seattle. The Iranians finished third in the group.
Belgium dominated a lopsided first half and had alarm bells ringing in the New Zealand defence early on when Trossard’s angled shot cannoned of the inside of the upright only to be cleared off the line by Tyler Binden.
The Red Devils looked poised to take the lead moments later when Jordanian referee Adham Mohammad pointed to the penalty spot after Trossard’s shot hit the arm of covering defender Finn Surman.
But VAR sent Mohammad to the monitor to take another look at the decision, which was subsequently overturned and New Zealand breathed again.
Yet Belgium did not have long to wait before the breakthrough and again it was Trossard who proved to be in the right place at the right time, bundling home from close range after De Bruyne’s corner sowed panic in the six-yard box.
Trossard effectively made the game safe five minutes into the second half, controlling a rebound in a crowded area to volley home past New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe at the near post.
De Bruyne then stroked home an elegant low finish in the 66th minute to make it 3-0, a crucial goal which saw the Belgians leapfrog over Egypt into first place on goal difference.
Yet there was to be a dramatic end when New Zealand’s Elijah Just volleyed home a consolation strike from the edge of the area to make it 3-1.
That could have been potentially costly, with the goal suddenly bumping Belgium down into second place.
But Lukaku nodded home his team’s fourth in the 86th minute with his first touch just a minute after coming on as a substitute to return Belgium to the top of the table.
Saelemaekers completed the scoring with a shot from the edge of the area.
Keeper replaced after costly mistake! | 00:26
URUGUAY CRASH OUT AS CABO VERDE’S INCREDIBLE RUN CONTINUES
Uruguay bowed out of the World Cup as goalkeeper Fernando Muslera’s howler gifted Spain a 1-0 win in Guadalajara to secure top spot in Group H.
Alex Baena’s weak shot slipped through Muslera’s grasp for the only goal as Spain avoided a last 32 showdown against Argentina.
The European champions will instead face Austria or Algeria next in Los Angeles.
Uruguay’s defeat allowed debutants Cape Verde to secure second place and a meeting with Lionel Messi and the defending champions thanks to a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia.
Two-time winners Uruguay become the highest ranked side to crash out in the group stages as the defeat rounded off a miserable tournament for Marcelo Bielsa and his squad.
After draws against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, reports of a revolt in the Uruguay camp emerged with leading players, including Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde, clashing with Bielsa over his tactics.
Spain’s King Felipe was among those in attendance but the only clash between two former winners of the World Cup in the group stages was a huge disappointment.
Lamine Yamal’s addition to the starting line-up had sparked the Spanish attack into life in a 4-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia after La Roja began in underwhelming fashion with a goalless draw against Cape Verde.
But another laboured attacking performance leaves Luis de la Fuente with plenty to ponder before the knockout stages begin on Sunday.
A hero of Uruguay’s run to the semi-finals in 2010, Muslera was at fault for both Cape Verde’s goals in a 2-2 draw.
And in Guadalajara, Spain had barely threatened the Uruguay goal before the 40-year-old allowed Baena’s shot to dribble over the line from Marcos Llorente’s cross on 42 minutes.
To rub salt into Urguayan wounds, Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte was injured in the build-up to the goal and stretchered off with what appeared a serious knee injury.
Bielsa replaced Muslera at half-time by Sergio Rochet and the Uruguay boss made an even bolder call when Valverde was taken off on the hour mark.
De la Fuente also turned to his bench and the introduction of Dani Olmo and Fabian Ruiz finally injected some life into the Spanish performance.
Olmo should have done better when he spooned a shot over from a rare flash of Yamal’s brilliance to tee up his Barcelona team-mate.
Yamal was replaced 15 minutes from time as his minutes continue to be managed after a hamstring injury ended his club season prematurely.
His replacement Ferran Torres should have doubled the lead five minutes from time but hit the bar with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Uruguay’s miserable tournament was summed up when Agustín Canobbio was shown a straight red card in stoppage time for a wild lunge on Pau Cubarsi.
Hyped as one of the pre-tournament favourites, Spain are now 34 competitive games unbeaten and are yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
But in stark contrast to some of the scintillating attacking play on show from the likes of France, Argentina and the Netherlands, La Roja are yet to convince in their quest for a second World Cup triumph.
FRANCE THRASH SECOND-STRING NORWAY
Ousmane Dembele scored one of the earliest hat-tricks in World Cup history on Friday as the Ballon d’Or winner starred in France’s 4-1 win over a second-string Norway, while Erling Haaland watched on from the bench.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembele opened the scoring in the seventh minute at the Gillette Stadium near Boston, struck again on 20 minutes and, after Thelo Aasgaard had pulled one back, he made it 3-1 in the 32nd minute.
The only player to complete a hat-trick earlier in a World Cup match is Erich Probst, who got three inside the first 24 minutes for Austria against Czechoslovakia in 1954.
Dembele moves on to four goals at the tournament after also scoring in the 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday, and his display here will perhaps ease some of the pressure on captain Kylian Mbappe to always be France’s match-winner.
Dembele stars for France in big win | 01:15
Desire Doue completed the scoring late on, and the victory allowed France to end the group stage with the maximum nine points — they have scored 10 goals in three games and advance as Group I winners.
“We said from the beginning that the biggest issue with this team and squad is that we get very arrogant, very quickly. The problem will be when they don’t have the ball,” ESPN journalist Julien Laurens said on BBC Radio 5.
“But, when they are on it, and you start to add all of the options up from the start and from the bench, it looks really scary.”
France will now stay in the northeastern USA for a last-32 tie against a third-place finisher at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey next Tuesday.
It was an emotionally charged day for Les Bleus, who had to play this match without coach Didier Deschamps after he returned to France to attend his mother’s funeral. Deschamps, who will step down at the end of the World Cup after 14 years in charge, is due back with his squad on Saturday.
Norway, who also saw Jorgen Strand Larsen have a penalty saved, go through in second place with six points, their progress already having been secured before this game thanks to wins over Iraq and Senegal.
That explains why coach Stale Solbakken made 10 changes to his starting line-up here following the 3-2 win over Senegal last time out.
Haaland, captain Martin Odegaard and striker Alexander Sorloth were among the players rested, with Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes the only one retained.
The regulars will undoubtedly return in the next round, and Norway will take on Ivory Coast in Dallas next Tuesday.
France were without Arsenal defender William Saliba as he rested a sore back, so Maxence Lacroix of Crystal Palace replaced him. Doue, Theo Hernandez and Aurelien Tchouameni all returned.
However, Dembele and Mbappe both kept their places, with the latter winning his 101st cap and looking to add to his 16 World Cup goals and catch up with Lionel Messi’s overall tournament record of 18.
But Dembele, a teammate of Mbappe’s in the France team that won the 2018 World Cup, stole the headlines with his brilliant hat-trick.
Mbappe released the 29-year-old for the early opener, as Dembele cut in from the right, dropped a shoulder and went back onto his right foot before firing across goalkeeper Egil Selvik and in.
Dembele was transformed into a Ballon d’Or winner after Luis Enrique, his coach at PSG, moved him from the wing into a central role.
But he caused havoc here coming in from the right flank, scoring his second as he cut infield and curled a low shot on his left foot into the far corner.
Aasgaard, of Rangers, pulled one back straight from the restart with a low strike past goalkeeper Mike Maignan with the French defence having switched off.
But Dembele curled in his team’s third, again on his left foot and into the same bottom corner, albeit this time from inside the area.
Three goals in the space of 25 first-half minutes is not the fastest hat-trick at a World Cup — that record is held by Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss, who needed less than eight minutes against El Salvador in 1982.
However, Dembele is now in illustrious company: the only previous French hat-tricks at the tournament were scored by Just Fontaine (twice in 1958) and Mbappe, who netted three in the 2022 final.
Norway could have pulled one back early in the second half after Oscar Bobb was tripped in the area by Hernandez, but Strand Larsen’s spot-kick was poor and Maignan saved.
Doue then headed in France’s fourth in stoppage time.
Thousands gather to watch Socceroos draw | 01:32
BRUTAL END OF ARNIE‘S IRAQ
Senegal became the first African side to score five goals in a World Cup match, a stunning double by Pape Gueye inspiring them to a 5-0 win over 10-man Iraq in their final Group I match on Friday.
Senegal also boosted their chances of progressing to the last 32 as one of the eight best third-placed teams — they have the best goal difference of the teams on three points.
Iraq go home without a point after a hugely disappointing campaign following an arduous route to qualify.
Senegal struck early, Habib Diarra getting the slightest of touches to Abdoulaye Seck’s header from a corner, for his first international goal since he scored in a friendly against England last year.
Iraq’s already slim hopes of keeping their hopes alive suffered a hammer blow a few minutes later.
Defender Rebin Sulaka had been brought into the starting line-up by Iraq coach Graham Arnold but his contribution lasted just 13 minutes.
English referee Anthony Taylor red-carded him after consulting the VAR screen for fouling Sadio Mane when the Senegal talisman was clear on goal.
It was the earliest red card of the nine so far in the World Cup, the fourth fastest in the tournament’s history.
Iraq were unable to fashion a chance in the rest of the half and despite their one man advantage Senegal could only muster one, Ismail Jacobs fierce strike from outside the box just going wide with the keeper beaten.
Senegal came out for the second-half bristling with intent.
Iraq had been further destabilised as they had to replace goalkeeper Ahmed Basil, who had taken a knock in the first-half, with Jalal Hassan at the break.
Hassan survived the early wave of attacks but was helpless when Senegal finally got into their stride.
Ismaila Sarr tapped in in the 56th minute, for his third goal of the tournament, after a dreadful error by former Manchester United player Zidane Iqbal deep inside his own half gifted Senegal possession.
Sooceroos QUALIFY after intense draw | 02:26
The relief of the second goal had Sarr lying prone on his back pumping his fists with joy.
Then came the Gueye show and it had the fans off their seats. Within 89 seconds of coming on as a substitute he let rip from outside the box with a sublime curling effort that gave Hassan no chance for 3-0 in the 59th minute.
The Villarreal midfielder possibly outdid that effort with a vicious half volley 12 minutes later that flew past the keeper.
Arnold was reduced to leaning on the dugout and ruefully shaking his head, and could only watch as Iliman Ndiaye scored with another screamer eight minutes from time.