#Russia2018
Group C Live Standings: What Australia and Denmark need to qualify
France are through. Peru are out. Denmark and Australia both have a chance. And it could come down to well-behaved Australians. Who knew?
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Read our guide to group scenarios and an explanation of tie-breakers here.
Fixtures and kick off times
Australia vs Peru
Denmark vs France
Both matches kick off at 16:00.
Group C live standings
These standings are live and will update throughout the final group games.
Qualified: France.
Eliminated: Peru.
How the group shapes up
Time for a bit of football-by-numbers. One spot remains up for grabs in this group, but the scenarios for qualification are complicated.
For Australia to progress they must win and hope Denmark lose to France. But here things get complicated.
A win by at least two goals combined with a Denmark loss — of any margin — would put the Socceroos through. However, a win by just one goal means it’s up to by how much Denmark lose.
Since Denmark and Australia drew with each other, it is possible that we could head for the tiebreaker based on discipline. In this case, as things stand before kick off, the Aussies (we couldn’t believe this either) have fewer yellow cards. But that could change, of course.
What to expect
Australia and Peru have never played each other. Peru have had a woeful tournament so far, though, and are yet to even obtain a point.
On the other hand, France and Denmark are familiar foes. France hold the upper hand, having won eight, drawn one and lost just four. They have not played each other in any competition since 2015, though.
France haven’t hit their straps yet. Now would be a good time to start. A win for Les Bleus would mean they avoid Croatia in the last of 16. And just to add a bit more spice to it all, Denmark coach Age Hareide last month dismissed Didier Deschamps’ side as “nothing special.” As we said back when Phillip was here: “show dem”.
What they are saying
“The situation is a little unusual for some of our players. They are young and they are going to learn from this. It is hard mentally and physically to go through this. But I think they have done really well to work hard for the team and have a good morale going into the match against France.” Denmark coach Hareide singing a different tune now.
Who awaits in the next round
It’s Croatia and whoever finishes second in Group D. DM
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