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With France being clearly a superior side to Tunisia, Australia and Denmark will decide the majority fate of Group D of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Denmark while favorites and possessing more quality than their upcoming opponent (Australia), hasn’t come across as the side they were prior to this world cup.

With one draw and one loss, the Danes desperately need a win against Australia to progress to the round of 16 alongside France. An identical scenario has been set up for Australia which also needs a victory emergently or a draw, provided some conditions, to progress to the last 16.

Even Tunisia has as much of a chance as Australia and Denmark but they have to conquer the reigning world champion France to get to the knockouts which seem definitively unlikely. In the event that happens, Denmark will have to beat Australia with a great goal difference to edge out Tunisia and get a place in the last 16.

Australia vs Denmark Expected Lineups

Denmark kept more men in the mid, just ahead of the back and two behind the attack against France and it did seem to have been working for them until Mbappe canceled out their 1-1 draw. They nevertheless are expected to stick with that format heading into the clash against Australia. The key players to power their mid-oriented lineups will be Christian Eriksen and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg. Expecting the ball from them will be Brentford forward Damsgaard and Copenhagen forward Cornelius. For Denmark, a notable absentee is Thomas Delaney whose ability to serve stopped after suffering a knee injury in the first half against Tunisia in round one. As a result, we might still be seeing Mikkel Damsgaard starting in Delaney’s place for the game against Australia. Andres Skov Olsen and Simon Kjaer may also start but seems unlikely to be on the pitch for the whole 90 and extra minutes.

For Australia, Riley McGree and Mitchell Duke look unquestionably inevitable. And so is Aaron Mooy in the mid. He has served his nation 55 times and the Premier League experience is always an advantage. Midlothian right-back Nathaniel Atkinson is doubtful as he also missed Australia’s victory over Tunisia after suffering a knock to his ankle against France in the opening match. Brescia right-back Fran Karacic should be the face that is certain to start in the place of Atkinson. The significant absence on the Australian side is Hibernian forward Martin Boyle who has been sidelined for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury.

Possible Lineups

Australia: Ryan; Karacic, Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Leckie, Irvine, Mooy, McGree, Goodwin; Duke

Denmark: Scmeichel; Andersen, Kjaer, Christensen; Kristensen, Hojbjerg, Erisksen, Maehle; Skov Olsen, Dolberg, Damsgaard

Australia vs Denmark Predictions

Upsets are a tradition in major international tournaments and while Denmark entered the competition as the dark horse hasn’t really lived up to the expectations. Australia having a tie as one more option than Denmark might just create another surprise victory for this event in Qatar. We, therefore, are projecting the Socceroos to pull a shocking win or at least a draw against Denmark.

However, it is going to be a tall order or even a bridge-too-far scenario for the Aussies, and rightly so. Denmark has one of the best cohesive units among the European teams and they will appear tough to break down and more organized than ever in this match. However, the main issue lately, and quite apparently has been the lack of goals and to that, they look likely to pull away some force from their defense to their attacking area. This will definitely leave them not as great in defense as they have been up until now. So that’s where we are counting on the Aussies to capitalize and they very well might do it. But since the Danes have too much of a quality team to lose, they may be the one to first hit the net. Yet again, since we are betting on the upsets, it just might be so that the Danes are going to slip up at some point and Australia will just make it to the knockouts for the second time in a FIFA competition. The lack of ability to move the ball faster to make an efficient counter is what has been haunting Denmark recently and especially in this world cup and that’s why it has been unusually hard for anyone to pick them as a clear winner.

Whatever the case since the stakes are so high, one should be extremely brave to bet on the game going to high-scoring mode.

Australia vs Denmark Most Recent Odds

Australia vs Denmark Previous Statistics

Australia vs Denmark Previous Meetings

The two teams are meeting each other in competitive fixtures for the second time. Their last match was at the FIFA World Cup 2018 which was also in the group stage; that game saw both teams sharing the spoils with a 1-1 draw. Besides that, they have also clashed at international friendlies on several occasions. Altogether the best records, in terms of stats, belong to Denmark who has won two of the four meetings versus Australia’s only one. The Danes also have netted 8 times throughout its previous meetings against the Oceanic nation.