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Wild scenes at Federation Square for Socceroos heartbreaking thriller against Argentina

Fans were turned away from Melbourne’s Federation Square as thousands packed out the space for the thrilling clash between the Socceroos and Argentina on Sunday morning.

Excited scenes unfolded as the game was played on big screens at the square and across Australia after kicking off at 6am Sydney time.

The crowd went wild when Australia fought back from 2-0 down after half time with Craig Goodwin scoring a goal.

But despite the green and gold determination and belief, it was not to be and the game ended with the Socceroos losing 2-1.

The loss means Australia’s World Cup campaign is now over after making the knockout stage for the first time in 16 years.

Argentina’s first goal came in the 35th minute when soccer extraordinaire Lionel Messi scored from inside the penalty area, with the SBS commentary stating “the door’s open and it went straight through”.

Julian Alvarez made it two with a goal in 58th minute on an error by Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan.

Melbourne’s Federation Square earlier on Sunday morning. Photo: Fed Square Cam

With Federation Square reaching capacity, Melbourne football fans were instead directed to AAMI Park.

A Fed Square live camera showed flares lit in the tightly packed crowd as social media users described the scene as “absolute chaos”.

Cities across the country rushed to make bigger public spaces available for fans to watch the much-anticipated game after the jubilant scenes in Melbourne’s Federation Square following the Socceroos’ win over Denmark.

Big screens were set up at Tumbalong Park at Darling Harbour in downtown Sydney.

Sydney’s Opera House hyped up the city on Saturday night with its sails illuminated in green and gold.

The sails of the Sydney Opera House lit up in green and gold for the Socceroos. Photo: AAP

Line-up change

The Socceroos made one change to their starting line-up to face Argentina in a knock-out clash at the World Cup in Qatar.

Coach Graham Arnold replaced winger Craig Goodwin with Keanu Baccus, who was a standout after coming from the bench at halftime in Australia’s 1-0 win over Denmark.

That victory followed the Socceroos’ 1-0 triumph against Tunisia and marked the first time the Australians have won two games in one edition of the World Cup.

Argentina will now play the Netherlands in a quarter-final on Friday night (0600 AEDT Saturday).

The Dutch earlier defeated the United States 3-1 in their knockout game.

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