FIFA World Cup Australia vs. Denmark, Tips and Preview, 1st December
Australia vs. Denmark
December 1
A group of 16 spot is on the line, and Australia will stop at nothing to obtain it.
After a disappointing first-up loss to France, the Socceroos scored an unlikely win over Tunisia and may now be just 90 minutes away from advancing through.
They may only need to draw to progress, but that is no walk in the park against a highly-rated Denmark team.
The biggest obstacle for Australia comes in the form of Christian Eriksen. As the highest-profile of the Danes, Eriksen has performed admirably, if not spectacularly, so far and could cause trouble against a Socceroos defence that was tested intensively as they tried to close out the win against Tunisia.
Eriksen is yet to open his scoring account so far this tournament but has been one of the stories of the Cup in his comeback from collapsing on the pitch just two years ago.
He will be looking to score early, with Australian memories extremely conscious of his seventh-minute conversion when the two teams met at the 2018 tournament.
Eriksen poses as a dual threat with Andreas Christensen, who showed his worth, pushing forward from defence with a second-half equaliser against the French last week, and he will have to be closely guarded in this one.
Australia’s play hasn’t been overly flashy, but it has been accountable, managing to withstand everything the Tunisians threw at them on Saturday night. If it weren’t for Harry Souttar’s brilliant tackling and Mat Ryan’s composure while fending off countless shots on goal, Australia would be in a dead rubber here.
They need to ramp up their possession of the football, with just under 42 per cent of the ball in their last encounter. A key factor there will be Aaron Mooy’s control in the midfield and how he can work in tandem with Jackson Irvine.
As for further up the ground, Craig Goodwin has been their player of the tournament so far, having scored against France and then setting up Mitch Duke’s winner against Tunisia. One more big game from Goodwin will have him under a major spotlight in world football.
We all want the romantic underdog story here, but there is an underlying feeling that Denmark is building to something big. They have the firepower and the credentials and will most likely end the Australian dream in this one.
