Paraguay vs. Australia: Head-to-head record and past meetings ahead of 2026 World Cup clash

In what is shaping up to be a decisive clash for second place in Group D, Paraguay and Australia meet at Levi's Stadium in the early hours of Friday for matchday three of the 2026 World Cup.

Both sides are level on three points, although the Socceroos currently sit second thanks to a superior goal difference, with Los Guaraníes just behind in third.

Paraguay opened their campaign with a heavy 4-1 defeat to co-hosts USA but responded strongly on matchday two with a narrow 1-0 win over Turkey.

Australia, meanwhile, could not build on their opening 2-0 victory over Turkey, falling 2-0 to the United States in their second outing, leaving this encounter in Santa Clara with major stakes for automatic qualification.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the head-to-head record between the two nations.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 5

Paraguay wins: 0

Draws: 3

Australia wins: 2

Given the distance between the two countries, meetings have been relatively rare, with all previous encounters coming in friendly fixtures.

The pair have met five times in total, with Australia holding the upper hand, having won twice and avoided defeat in the remaining three games.

Both nations' first meetings came in a three-game series in June 2000, played over the space of a week, with the opening two ending goalless before Australia edged the third clash 2-1.

The next encounter arrived in October 2006 in Brisbane, finishing 1-1, with Tony Popovic's 88th-minute header cancelled out by Michael Beauchamp's own goal in stoppage time.

The most recent meeting between the pair took place in October 2010 in Sydney, where Australia again came out on top with a 1-0 win, secured by David Carney's second-half goal.