Australia seal World Cup knockout spot as USA suffer first defeat against Turkey

The Socceroos only needed a point to qualify from the final round of Group D fixtures, while Paraguay's fourth point left them almost certain to progress as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams.

With both sides aware of what they needed, the match was played at a cautious pace with few clear-cut chances. Australia were the better side before the break, forcing goalkeeper Orlando Gill into saves from Jackson Irvine and Cristian Volpato, while Paraguay offered little attacking threat.

Diego Gomez was booked and will miss Paraguay's first knockout match through suspension, while Omar Alderete limped off with a knee injury.

Australia almost snatched victory late through Jordan Bos before Mauricio missed a stoppage-time chance for Paraguay.

In the other group D game, Turkey beat the USA 3-2 with the last kick of the match, securing their first victory at the tournament since 2002 after Kaan Ayhan bundled home a stoppage-time winner - though it wasn't enough to see them advance.

The United States made a dream start in Los Angeles despite making nine changes, with Auston Trusty scoring after just two minutes from a corner. Turkey responded impressively, however, as Arda Guler netted their first goal of the tournament before Orkun Kokcu's strike gave them a 2-1 lead before half-time.

The Americans raised their intensity after the break and equalised through Sebastian Berhalter's fine 20-yard finish. Christian Pulisic came close to winning it on three occasions after coming off the bench, but Turkey goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir produced a superb save to tip one effort onto the post.

With time running out, Ayhan struck in stoppage time to snatch victory, but the result didn't hurt the United States, who had already secured top spot in Group D and will face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32.

Despite seeing their winning start to the World Cup come to an end, Pochettino believes the match will benefit his side in the long run.

"We are ready and much better than before this game because we have players with 90 minutes in their legs and ready to help," he said.

"When I arrived here [for this press conference] I am confused because the mood is like we went home tonight and Turkey stay.

"At the moment no-one congratulate us to finish first in a very difficult group.

"I think we are a much better team now than before because it is not easy after winning two games to prepare for the next stage."

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