World Cup Preview – Group C | Denmark v Australia – France v Peru

Denmark and France will secure the qualification spots in Group C with victories on Thursday.

Both countries took victory in their opening games, which means both will be through with another three points on Thursday.

Denmark are in action first as they face Australia in Samara, but their coach Age Hareide is hoping that they can improve on their first performance during their 1-0 win over Peru.

“I want to focus on how we will play because in the first match we were too focused on the result and so we didn’t perform to our best,” Hareide said. “We forgot that.”

Australia coach Bert van Marwijk was pleased with their display in their 2-1 loss to France – and he believes Denmark could be an even tougher challenge.

“The Danish they are a strong team, they are number 12 in the world rankings and that says enough,” Van Marwijk said.

“They are a physically strong team, very tall players, that’s their weapon and we played against France and they have more quality and creativity in their players, but I think the Danish are maybe more a team.”

French coach Dider Deschamps winning admits his side can also improve as they face Peru.

“Winning the first match was very important, we can do better, do a lot better,” he said.

Peru coach Ricardo Gareca respects the French but insists they are capable of winning.

“Of course we respect France, but no matter the circumstances, we are used to being the underdogs, we are used to living on the edge,” he said.

“We can beat any team, we have the tools to win and we know how to handle ourselves in this type of extreme situation.”

See below for a preview on the games, including predictions from former England and Tottenham midfielder Andy Gray and our own Football Insider Graeme Bailey and bet365’s Steve Freeth.

Denmark 13:00 Australia
Samara Arena, Samara
Live on ITV

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS:
Denmark: 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: Mathew Ryan; Aziz Behich, Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury, Josh Risdon; Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic, Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse; Tomi Juric, Mathew Leckie

KEY FACT: Denmark are on an unbeaten run of 16 games.
Match odds from bet365: DENMARK 19/20 DRAW 12/5 AUSTRALIA 7/2
bet365 Pick: Under 2.5 goals @3/5
ANDY SAYS: Comfortable Denmark win coming up here I believe…2-0
GRAEME SAYS: Australia are a stubborn team, but Denmark should be able to break them down
FOOTBALLIndex – One to follow: Christian Eriksen – top class performer who still has a lot of value to come on the Index

France 19:00 Peru
Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
Live on ITV

POSSIBLE LINE-UPS:
France: Hugo Lloris; Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez; Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kante, Blaise Matuidi; Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe.

Peru: Pedro Gallese, Luis Advincula, Christian Ramos, Alberto Rodriguez, Miguel Trauco, Pedro Aquino, Yoshimar Yotun, Andre Carrillo, Edison Flores, Jefferson Farfan, Paolo Guerrero.

KEY FACT: France and Peru have met once before, and the South Americans won in a friendly in 1982
Match odds from bet365: FRANCE 3/5 DRAW 3/1 PERU 11/2
bet365 Pick: Both Teams To Score @19/20
ANDY SAYS: A big win coming for France, little doubt about it…3-0
GRAEME SAYS: I don’t think it will be easy, but yes France will win it…2-1
FOOTBALLIndex – One to follow: Nabil Fekir – The Liverpool target really is one to keep an eye on, could be a major mover on the Index

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