Fans gather in Federation Square as the Socceroos beat Denmark

Thousands of fans packed Melbourne’s Federation Square to watch the Socceroos advance to the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time since 2006.

Australia beat Denmark 1-0 to secure second place in Group D.

A 60th-minute goal from Mat Leckie sent the crowd wild, with Nine’s Christine Ahern reporting it was “absolute chaos” with car horns heard across the city as the Socceroos took the lead.

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“The atmosphere was absolutely amazing,” she said.

“Flareworks were set off before, during and after the game, but the crowd went absolutely wild when Mathew Leckie scored that goal to put the Socceroos ahead.

“The crowd went wild again as the final whistle sounded.”

The very early start did not deter fans from turning up in large numbers, most dressed in green and gold in support of the Socceroos.

“I’m so, so proud of this team, they’ve worked so hard,” said one fan.

A large police presence was on the scene, but Ahern said the problems were limited to just a few people.

“The crowd rushed to the stage (full time), they had put a barrier on the stage to prevent people from getting on it, but they just walked through it,” she said.

“There were one or two troublemakers, but everyone did pretty well.”

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