Having secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Peru in the first game, Denmark will be eyeing a spot in the Round of 16 (pre-quarterfinals) when they take on Australia in the FIFA World Cup 2018 Group C match at Samara Arena. The match is a must-win for Australia who finally lost 1-2 to France in their opener after giving the 1998 winners a tough fight.
Follow the live match updates:
10 minute: Corner to Australia. The ball is cleared to safety.
Denmark 1-0 Australia
7 minute: GOAL!!! Christian Eriksen opens the Denmark scoreline with a brilliant finish on the top left corner. Lovely play by Nicolai Jorgensen as he flicked the ball to Eriksen
5 minute: Corner to Australia. That was close! Mathew Leckie heads it past the crossbar.
4 minute: Andrew Nabbout makes a great run into the Australian box but the ball is deflected by the Australian defender.
2 minute: Corner to Denmark, who are attacking in the early minutes of the match.
1 minute: Free-kick to Denmark. The defence clears the ball but gives away a corner.
Kick-off
While Denmark certainly are the favourites, more so because they have not lost their last 16 matches, Australia are unlikely to be pushovers as their last game showed. The Danes last lost a match against Montenegro on October 11, 2016. Since they have won nine, drawn seven matches and not allowed their rivals to score a goal in the last five matches. On the other hand, Australia have a problem up front as they have scored just 12 goals in their last 15 matches.
Starting Lineups:
Denmark XI: Kasper Schmeichel; Jens Stryger Larsen, Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjaer, Henrik Dalsgaard; Lasse Schone, Thomas Delaney, Christian Eriksen; Pione Sisto, Nicolai Jorgensen, Yussuf Yurary Poulsen
Australia XI: Mathew Ryan; Aziz Behich, Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury, Josh Risdon; Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic, Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse; Andrew Nabbout, Mathew Leckie
Full squad:
Australia: Goalkeepers – Brad Jones, Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic. Defenders – Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Matthew Jurman, James Meredith, Josh Ridson, Trent Sainsbury. Midfielders – Tim Cahill, Jackson Irvine, Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic. Forwards – Daniel Arzani, Tomi Juric, Jamie Maclaren, Mathew Leckie, Andrew Nabbout, Dimitri Petratos
Denmark: Goalkeepers – Jonas Lossl, Frederik Ronow, Kasper Schmeichel. Defenders – Andreas Christensen, Mathias Jorgensen, Simon Kjaer, Jonas Knudsen, Jens Stryger Larsen, Jannik Vestergaard. Midfielders – Thomas Delaney, Christian Eriksen, Michael Krohn-Dehli, William Kvist, Lukas Lerager, Lasse Schone. Forwards – Martin Braithwaite, Andreas Cornelius, Kasper Dolberg, Viktor Fischer, Nicolai Jorgensen, Yussuf Poulsen, Pione Sisto
Source: Zee News