Australia's World Cup Exit: Popovic's Gamble Backfires
The words were meant to soften the blow.
“Either way you win.”
“Whatever happens there will be consolation.”
They sounded reasonable in the days leading up to it, as Australia stood on the brink of a first-ever World Cup knockout victory. They rang hollow when Hossam Abdelmaguid drilled Egypt’s fourth penalty into the corner and ended the Socceroos’ tournament in Dallas.
There wasn’t consolation. Just that sick, hollow feeling that sits somewhere between being gutted and being drained. The kind of loss that leaves you staring at the screen, unsure what to say.
Popovic under fire as gamble backfires
The numbers are stark. A 1-1 draw after extra time at Dallas Stadium. A 4-2 defeat in the shootout. And still no Australian win in the knockout stages of a World Cup.
The fallout, though, is about more than a result. It’s about two decisions by Tony Popovic that will follow him for a long time.
As the match edged towards penalties, Popovic hooked Patrick Beach, the starting goalkeeper who had carried Australia through the night, and turned instead to veteran Mat Ryan. At the same time, he entrusted one of the spot-kicks to 18-year-old Lucas Herrington.
Ryan never got close enough to turn the tide. Herrington, thrust into the most pressurised moment of his young career, failed to convert.
The reaction from some of the country’s most respected former players was immediate and fierce. Mark Bosnich, who knows the penalty spotlight better than most, said he was “astounded” Beach was benched. Robbie Slater questioned the sense in placing such a burden on a teenager with the World Cup on the line.
Popovic, though, retains the backing that matters most. Football Australia moved quickly to defend the coach, insisting he remains “absolutely” the right man to lead the national side despite the storm around his calls in Dallas. The message from headquarters is clear: this exit will not trigger a change in the dugout.
Whether that calms the debate is another matter. Australia came to this tournament chasing history. They leave with old questions repackaged in fresh pain.
Mbappe keeps marching as France handle the heat
On the other side of the Atlantic, another World Cup story gathered pace in brutal conditions.
In Philadelphia, under an extreme heat warning and with temperatures hitting 37 degrees in the first half, France outlasted Paraguay and the weather. The game moved at a slower, almost suffocating tempo, but Kylian Mbappe refused to cool down.
His second-half penalty sealed a 1-0 win and a fourth consecutive World Cup quarter-final for France, where Morocco now await. It was Mbappe’s seventh goal of the tournament, pulling him level with Lionel Messi in the golden boot race and keeping him firmly on the Argentine’s heels in the all-time World Cup scoring charts.
Nineteen goals in 19 World Cup matches. One behind Messi’s 20. The numbers are beginning to look historic.
Paraguay did what Paraguay do. They scrapped, they spoiled, they dragged the game into a contest of will as much as skill. Even at the final whistle, tempers frayed and words flew between the two sets of players before France finally peeled away to celebrate and Paraguay turned their anger towards the referee.
The decisive moment arrived on 70 minutes. Doue went down in the box under a clear challenge from Gomez. The referee initially waved play on, but the VAR check told its own story. Contact. A trip. A second look on the pitchside monitor, and this time the whistle went France’s way.
Ousmane Dembele held the ball at first, but there was never much doubt. Mbappe took responsibility, added a stutter to his run-up, and slid the ball into the bottom-right corner. Clinical. Cold, even in that furnace.
The goal did more than settle the tie. It spared France the ordeal of extra time in the Philadelphia heat and tightened Mbappe’s grip on the tournament narrative.
Paraguay tried to respond. Gomez and Miguel Almiron made way for Mauricio and Avalos in a late attempt to inject pace and attacking intent into a side that had offered almost none. It changed little. France controlled the closing stages, even when the game briefly threatened to boil over.
Deep into stoppage time, Mbappe almost doubled the lead with a thunderous effort that Gill could only parry straight back at him. The follow-up seemed destined for the corner, only for the goalkeeper to twist and claw it away again with a desperate, remarkable save.
It did not matter. France were through. Mbappe walked off with another goal, another record nudged closer, and another defence left chasing shadows.
Australia, by contrast, walked off in Dallas with heads bowed and a tournament over. One nation moves into the quarter-finals behind a forward rewriting history. Another goes home still wondering when its own defining World Cup moment will finally arrive.
