Denmark hoping to overpower Peru in Group C clash

by Graeme Jackson

Friday Jun 15, 2018. 13:00

Denmark will fancy their chances of overpowering Peru in their 2018 World Cup Group C clash at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk on Saturday, June 16, kick-off at 18h00 CAT.

Denmark come into the match on the back of a 2-0 win over fellow finalists Mexico in a warm-up match played last weekend, with coach Age Hareide hoping his side can live up to the promise they showed in qualifying.

The Danes finished behind an impressive Polish side in their group, but went on to defeat the Republic of Ireland 5-1 on aggregate in the playoffs.

The ‘Danish Dynamite’ have few household names in their squad, with Tottenham Hotspur playmaker Christian Eriksen their only real world-class star, but they are greater than the sum of their parts and will believe that the good balance between youth and experience in their current squad will serve them well at Russia 2018.

Peru have enjoyed a strong build-up programme to the tournament, with a goalless draw against Sweden last Saturday preceded by wins over Scotland and Saudi Arabia.

‘Los Incas’ have outdone themselves just by qualifying, as they finished behind only heavyweights Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia in the notoriously difficult CONMEBOL preliminaries, before ousting New Zealand in intercontinental playoffs.

Coach Ricardo Gareca’s side will rely heavily on veteran forwards Paulo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfan, but quite whether they have the tactical nous and temperament to thrive at the global tournament remains to be seen.

There is no previous head-to-head history between Denmark and Peru, with this World Cup match set to be their first meeting.

Peru v Denmark – head-to-head

N/A – This will be their first meeting.