Australia’s final game of Group D at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will see Graham Arnold’s side tackle Denmark on Thursday, 1 December (2:00am AEDT).
Matches involving these two countries have generally been tight affairs, but the Aussies will have their work cut out against a Danish outfit that exceeds expectations and is a potential dark horse.
READ MORE: FIFA World Cup Opposition Spotlight: France
READ MORE: FIFA World Cup Opposition Spotlight: Tunisia
Current FIFA Ranking: 10
FIFA World Cup Appearances: 6 (1986, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2018, 2022)
FIFA World Cup Finals
Most Games: Martin Jorgensen – 11
Most Goals: Jon-Dahl Tomasson – 5
FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualification Record
Played: 10
Wins: 9
Draws: 0
Losses: 1
Goals scored: 30
Goals conceded: 3
Denmark was near flawless during its qualifying campaign, losing on the final matchday to runners-up Scotland. Atalanta fullback Joakim Mæhle ended as the Red and Whites’ top-scorer with five goals. UEFA Group F also contained Israel, Austria, Faroe Islands and Moldova.
Key players
Denmark is experiencing somewhat of a golden era, indicative of its incumbent FIFA ranking of 10th. Star midfielder Christian Eriksen remains the most influential player for the Danes and sets the tempo for his side with his exquisite passing and goals from midfield.
He is expected to operate in front of a double pivot involving Sevilla’s Thomas Delaney and Tottenham Hotspur’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Captain and AC Milan centre-back Simon Kjaer, marshals the defence and is an exceptional reader of the game, while in attack Mikkel Damsgaard, Kasper Dolberg and Martin Braithwaite remain strong options along with Yussuf Poulsen, though he has not been called up since June.
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Head Coach
Kasper Hjulmand has been head coach of Denmark since 2020 and has enjoyed huge success for the small Nordic nation. He guided the Danes to a semi-final berth at UEFA Euro 2020, falling to England in extra-time. It was the country’s best finish at a major tournament since winning UEFA Euro 1992.
Previous meeting
The last time Australia and Denmark faced each other was four years ago at the previous World Cup. A Mile Jedinak penalty cancelled out Christian Eriksen’s opener as both teams had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
Opta Facts
- This will be Denmark’s sixth FIFA World Cup appearance. It’s only the second time they have qualified for back-to-back tournaments, after 1998/2002.
- Denmark have made it out of the group stages in four of their five previous World Cup appearances, but have never progressed further than the quarter-finals (1998).
- Denmark won nine of their 10 games in World Cup qualifying, losing only against Scotland. Denmark kept more clean sheets in the group stage of European qualifying than any other side (8).
- No player scored more goals for Denmark in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup than Joakim Maehle (5, level with Andreas Skov Olsen), while no player was directly involved in more goals for the nation during their last major tournament (EURO 2020) than Maehle (3 – 2 goals, 1 assist).
- Yussuf Poulsen scored once in the 2018 World Cup, and twice at EURO 2020. He could become just the third Danish player to score in three different major tournaments, after Michael Laudrup (1986 World Cup, EURO 1988 and 1998 World Cup) and Jon Dahl Tomasson (2002 World Cup, EURO 2004 and 2010 World Cup).
- This will be Kasper Hjulmand’s second consecutive major tournament as Denmark manager. He led the Danes to the semi-finals at UEFA Euro 2020, their best performance at a major tournament since winning EURO 1992.
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ - Australia's Group D Matches
France v Australia
Date: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Kick-off: 6:00am (AEDT)
Watch: Live and Free on SBS and SBS On Demand
Tunisia v Australia
Date: Saturday, 26 November 2022
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Kick-off: 9:00pm (AEDT)
Watch: Live and Free on SBS and SBS On Demand
Australia v Denmark
Date: Thursday, 1 December 2022
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Kick-off: 2:00am (AEDT)
Watch: Live and Free on SBS and SBS On Demand