Melbourne Rectangular Stadium to screen Socceroos’ World Cup clash with Argentina

Football fans will be able to watch Sunday morning’s World Cup clash between the Socceroos and Argentina on the big screen at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium as well as the Victoria Golf Club at Cheltenham.

The match will still be shown on the big screen at Federation Square, but the Victorian government has opened up more venues to cope with an explosion of interest in the game.

Fans will be able to watch the game from seats at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, where gates will open at 5am. Entry is free.

The village big screen will show the match at the Victoria Golf Club, where the Australian Open is currently being played. 

The first 500 people will enter free and will then be allowed to stay for the remainder of the day to watch the golf. Those people who are not among the first 500 to arrive will need to buy a $33 ticket.

The move to open up more sites to watch the game comes after thousands of people packed into Federation Square to watch the Socceroos final match in the group stage against Denmark.

Premier Daniel Andrews said fans were expected to gather in even greater numbers for the knock-out clash with Argentina.

“This is Australia’s best-ever World Cup performance, and we’re making sure as many people as possible can enjoy the action and cheer on our side as it takes the field in Qatar.”

“I encourage football fans to come down, soak the atmosphere and cheer on the Socceroos in a safe and respectful manner at the live sites.”

Victoria Police will have a presence at the sites to crack down on any unruly behaviour.

There were jubilant scenes at Federation Square on Thursday morning as fans watched the Socceroos beat Denmark 1-0 to reach the knock-out phase of the World Cup for the first time since 2006.

Supporters cheered and set off flares after Matthew Leckie scored what turned out to be the only goal of the contest midway through the second half.