World Cup fever grips the Northern Rivers as Socceroos march on

CROWDS gathered at venues across the Northern Rivers last week to watch the Socceroos book their place in the Round of 32 with a scoreless draw against Paraguay in their final group-stage match.

With kick-off at noon last Friday, supporters took time off work to cheer on the green and gold as Tony Popovic’s young side progressed to the knockout stages after an opening win over Türkiye, a loss to the United States and the draw against Paraguay.

At Kingscliff Beach Hotel, grey skies gave way to patches of sunshine as families and friends gathered to watch every moment on the big screen.

Tweed resident Campbell Gilbert was among those who had taken time off.

“Work can get stuffed,” he joked.

For Gilbert, supporting the national team is simple.

“I think if you don’t support your team, then you can just not support any team,” he said.

Lisa Lemenager, who had travelled north from Sydney to watch the match with friends in Kingscliff, said she was pleased with the result.

“We had highs, we had lows,” she said.

“Would have been great to see a bit more action. The shots were on target but just missed a bit of finesse and a bit of power.

“Overall, good result, we got through, go us!”

A player for Box Hill Rangers in Sydney, Lemenager said football’s appeal was about far more than the game itself.

“I love the game, I love the friendships,” she said.

“Everyone loves it, it’s super inclusive.”

For local resident Garry Singleton, the World Cup is unlike any other sporting event.

“I went over to Germany in 2006 for the World Cup and it was just absolutely incredible,” he said.

“The fanatics are fanatical. Just the experience of going there was bloody crazy.”

Singleton recalled visiting the home town of former Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink during the tournament, where a visit to Hiddink’s brother’s restaurant unexpectedly landed his group in the local newspaper and attracted dozens of Australian supporters.

“So we all amalgamated there,” he said.

“We said, ‘Is this the local haunt?’, and they said, ‘No, we read about you guys in the paper’.”

World Cup fever is expected to continue across the region as the Socceroos prepare to face Egypt on Saturday 4 July at 4am AEST.

The Park Hotel in Suffolk Park will open from 3.30am for supporters wanting to watch the match on the big screen.