Match Preview: Australia meet Denmark at the Samara Arena today in a Group C match, looking to register their first win of the FIFA World Cup 2018 tournament. But they know things won't be easy against a formidable opponent like Denmark who already have three points from their one game after their win against Peru. Australia themselves were defensively impressive in their first game but fell eventually to a 1-2 loss against France that saw the luck lady smiling at Les Blues. If the Socceross want to qualify from the group stages, today's match is a must-win for them.
Australia Captain Mile Jedinak knows this and has said this his team would focus on Denmark as a unit and not solely on dangerman Christian Eriksen. He says improving on a disciplined performance is also a key for Australia. However, they will need to improve in the final third.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eriksen, who scored 11 of Denmark's goals in qualifying, is the key threat for Age Hareide's side at the Samara Arena.
On the other hand, the Danes, who have the psychological and points advantage over Peru, can afford to be more flexible with their strategy. A win here would cement their place in the Round of 16 and Denmark wouldn't like to leave anything to chance. Their goalkeeper K
asper Schmeichel is in a rich vein of form, having kept clean-sheets in his last five matches.
Live updates:
Minute 24 -- Another chance for Denmark. The Dens attack down the right flank and the player puts out a cross. Jorgensen arrives at the end of the cross only to head the ball wide.
Minute 17 -- Denmark settling nicely into the game now after drawing the first blood and are controlling the ball from the midfield. Australia look to try and break but haven't been able to make a meal out of their efforts till now.
Minute 7 (GOAL!!) -- Jorgensen does well to get into the box and flick the ball in front of Christian Eriksen who smashes his half-volley into the net and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Mat Ryan.
Minute 4 -- Australia break and Rogic takes a shot from the right hand side of the box but can only earn his team a corner. The delievery comes to Leckie who heads it upand over the crossbar.
Also read:https://www.business-standard.com/2018-fifa-world-cup
Line-ups out:
Australia squad: (4-4-1-1)
Mat Ryan; Aziz Behich, Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury, Josh Risdon; Robbie Kruse, Mile Jedinak, Aaron Mooy, Mathew Leckie;Tom Rogic; Andrew Nabbout
The teams for DENAUS are in!
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 21 2018
Score prediction?
Denmark squad: (4-2-3-1)
Kasper Schmeichel; Henrik Dalsgaard, Simon Kjaer, Andreas Christensen, Jens Stryger; Lasse Schone, Thomas Delaneu; Yussuf Poulsen, Christian Eriksen, Pione Sisto; Nicolai Jorgensen
Head-to-head: The two sides last met in 2012, with Denmark running out 2-0 winners courtesy a penalty goal from Daniel Agger and Andreas Bjelland who doubled the Danes' lead.
When and where to watch:
The match will be telecasted live in English on SONY TEN 2, in
Hindi on SONY TEN 3 and in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu on SONY ESPN.
Time: 5.30 PM IST
For live streaming, the match can be streamed at sonyliv.com
Trivia:
-- Australia have kept just 1 clean sheet in their 14 previous World Cup finals matches, a 0-0 draw with Chile in 1974. (Source:OptaJoe)
-- Christian Eriksen has been involved in Denmark's last three international goals; scoring one and assisting the other two goals for Yussuf Poulsen.(Source: OptaJoe)
-- Christian Eriksen's assist was his 17th goal (12) or assist (5) in his last 14 international games for Denmark.(Source: OptaJoe)
-- It took Australia 22 matches to seal their entry into this year's World Cup. This is the most any nation has ever played in a World Cup qualifying campaign.
-- Denmark haven't lost a single match in any of the competition since October 2016.
- Christian Eriksen has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 15 appearances for Denmark (13 goals, 5 assists).
Australia 23-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Brad Jones, Mitch Langerak, Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic;
Defenders: Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Alex Gersbach, Matthew Jurman, Fran Karacic, James Meredith, Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury, Aleksandar Susnjar, Bailey Wright;
Midfielders: Josh Brillante, Jackson Irvine, Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic, James Troisi;
Forwards: Daniel Arzani, Tim Cahill, Apostolos Giannou, Tomi Juric, Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout, Dimitri Petratos, Nikita Rukavytsya.
Formation and tactics: Australia started in a sort of 4-2-3-1 formation, their game plan revolving around a stoic defending and counterattack.
Key players: Their centre-back pair of Mark Miligan and Trent Sainsbury, who were excellent against France.
Denmark 23-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield), Frederik Ronow (Brondby), Jesper Hansen (FC Midtjylland)
Defenders: Simon Kjaer (Sevilla), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Mathias Jorgensen (Huddersfield), Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Andreas Bjelland (Brentford), Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford), Peter Ankersen (FC Copenhagen), Jens Stryger (Udinese), Riza Durmisi (Real Betis), Jonas Knudsen (Ipswich), Nicolai Boilesen (FC Copenhagen)
Midfielders: William Kvist (FC Copenhagen), Thomas Delaney (Werder Bremen), Lukas Lerager (Bordeaux), Lasse Schone (Ajax), Mike Jensen (Rosenborg), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Daniel Wass (Celta Vigo), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton), Mathias Jensen (FC Nordsjaelland), Michael Krohn-Dehli (Deportivo La Coruna), Robert Skov (FC Copenhagen)
Forwards: Pione Sisto (Celta Vigo), Martin Braithwaite (Bordeaux), Andreas Cornelius (Atalanta), Viktor Fischer (FC Copenhagen), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig), Nicolai Jorgensen (Feyenoord), Nicklas Bendtner (Rosenborg), Kasper Dolberg (Ajax), Kenneth Zohore (Cardiff)
Formation and tactics: Denmark started in a sort of 4-5-1 formation against Peru that didn't serve them very well despite a 1-0 win against Peru. They were pressured contionously by their lower-ranked opponents who also missed a penalty that saw them survive the scare. Any tactical changes by Age Hareide to his side might revolve around that last match.
Key players: Christian Eriksen, who has 17 goals+assists in his last 14 international games.