Can Australia Break Through Against Denmark?
Australia were not supposed to win their first match of the 2018 World Cup, and they did fall to France. However, they performed admirably in that tournament opener, and look like they may be able to threaten the other two teams in Group C. With a huge match against Denmark coming up, can Australia get over the hump and deliver some much-needed points to their campaign?
Before focusing on Denmark, it is worth pointing out just how good Australia were against France. They were victims of two different Video Assistant Referee calls, both of which benefited the French. The first was a penalty decision on a foul against Antoine Griezmann, which Griezmann converted to give France the lead. And after Australia levelled the game with a penalty of their own, goal-line technology prompted a goal decision after a Paul Pogba strike to give France the lead once and for all.
Despite the loss, one has to be impressed with the way that Australia played in the match. They were dogged defensively and put the ball into dangerous-enough positions to scratch out a goal against one of the best teams in the world. If they can play the same way against the other two teams in their group, they could conceivably come away with points in both of those games. But, for now, Australia must focus on a tough Denmark side.
Denmark came away with a gritty 1-0 win over Peru in their first game of this World Cup. They did the job admirably and managed to get out on the counter-attack to score the lone goal of that match. Australia would definitely be well served to make sure that they guard against the counter when they are in this match.
William Hill has the Danes as the favourite in this match, which puts Australia in an underdog role that they are more than familiar with on this stage. The difference this time is that the Aussies have a great shot at nicking three points against a Denmark team that didn't look overly special when getting out on the attack, outside of their one goal-producing counter.
Australia will come into the second game of their World Cup campaign a more confident team than they were when they entered the France match. They will need to ride their bolstered morale here against a team that will also be riding high after the first match of their tournament. And with Denmark having the opportunity to secure passage into the second round in the clash with Australia, the Aussies can be sure to get a tough game here.
After this match, Australia will have to tangle with Peru, who were the better side despite losing to Denmark. This is to say that there are no easy games for Australia in this World Cup.