epa06814040 Jens Stryger Larsen of Denmark (R) and Andre Carrillo of Peru in action during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group C preliminary round soccer match between Peru and Denmark in Saransk, Russia, 16 June 2018.
by
Austin Ditlhobolo
Wednesday Jun 20, 2018. 09:30
Denmark will face off with Australia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group C match at the Cosmos Arena in Samara on Thursday.
Kick-off is at 14h00 CAT.
The Danish Dynamite secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Peru in their first game of the tournament which was played at the Mordovia Arena last weekend with Yussef Poulsen scoring for Denmark.
The victory took Denmark to second spot on the Group C standings with three points from one game. Group leaders France also have three points, but they have scored more goals than the Danish Dynamite.
They will look to strengthen their hopes of reaching the Round of 16 with a victory over Australia. The Danish Dynamite will once gain look to their star midfielder Christian Eriksen, who plays for English side Tottenham Hotspur.
Denmark coach Age Hareide is expecting a tight game against Australia with his side having been tipped as the favourites heading into the game.
"Australia are a bit different to us. We have a few players who are at a higher level than them if you look at the squads player by player," Hareide said on BBC.
"But it's going to be a tight game. If you look at the results during this tournament then it would appear that many of the favourites have a tough time dealing with that role.
"If you go back two years and look at the matches there, then that was the case there as well."
Meanwhile, Australia succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to France in their first game of the competition which was played at the Kazan Arena last weekend with Mile Jedinak netting for the Socceroos.
The defeat left the Socceroos on fourth spot on the Group C standings without a single point. They are only three points behind group leaders France with two games left.
A victory for Australia against Denmark will help revive their hopes of advancing to the Round of 16. Jedinak is an inspirational captain for Australia and he will look to lead his side to victory.
Australia midfielder Aaron Mooy says they are treating their clash with Danish Dynamite like a final as they look to secure their first win of the tournament.
"We have a gameplan, which we've played since Bert Van Marwijk and the coaching staff took over and not a lot is changing. We just try and do our jobs better," Mooy said on BBC.
"The gameplan worked well against France, maybe we need to attack a bit more but that depends how the game's going.
"We need to win so hopefully we'll get a few chances and put them away. Every game at the World Cup is like a final."
In head-to-head stats according to the FIFA.com website, Denmark and Australia have clashed three times.
The Danish Dynamite have registered two wins compared to Socceroos' one victory.
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