Australia vs Denmark. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Australia will face Denmark in the FIFA Women’s World Cup round of 16 match at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Australia. The fixture will take place on Monday, August 7, beginning at 16:00 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Australia News & Current Form: 

For the first time in its history, the Australian team has made it out of the group at the World Championships. The team has participated in eight out of nine Women’s World Cups, but the results have been disappointing, with the team reaching the quarter-finals three times, but never the semi-finals. 

This year, the Australians, who along with New Zealand are the hosts of the tournament, are hoping to make it past the last-eight round and even become champions. 

The Matildas started the group stage with a routine 1 – 0 win over Ireland. It seemed that in the second round Australia should quietly defeat Nigeria and secure a place in the play-offs, but the hosts unexpectedly lost 2 – 3 and put themselves in a very uncomfortable position. 

But in the end everything worked out perfectly: before the deciding match against Canada, team captain Sam Kerr said that she was confident in the victory of her team even without her participation. As a result, the Australians defeated the Canadians (4 – 0) and earned the right to play in the elimination matches.

Australian national team players ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup game

And in a parallel game Nigeria could not beat Ireland (0 – 0), so in the end Australia went into the play-offs from the first place. In the 1/8 finals, the Aussies will face Denmark, which did not show anything incredible in the quartet. With the support of the home stands, the hosts should smoothly make it to the quarter-finals.

Captain and best player of the national team Sam Kerr (Chelsea FC Women, 63 goals in 121 games) finally made it into the squad in the third round, but has not been on the pitch and has not played a single minute at this World Cup so far (she is likely to play on Monday). 

Real Madrid CF forward Hayley Raso (14 goals in 74 appearances) scored twice against Canada in the third round, and her chances of getting on the pitch in the opening minutes against the Danes are high. Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord lead their national team up front, and this attacking pairing has made it 11 wins for Australia in their last 13 matches.

Denmark News & Current Form: 

For the Danish national team, getting out of the group in the playoffs was the first since 1995. In 2017, the team finished second at the 2017 Euros. Recently, they have seriously strengthened in defense and have not conceded more than two goals in 11 games in a row.

At the current World Cup, Denmark finished 2nd in the group, losing to England, who beat them with a minimum score in the second round (1 – 0). The failure did not allow the Scandinavians to take the first place in the quartet, but they still took the upper hand over China (1 – 0), and then quite easily beat Haiti in the 3rd round (0 – 2). 

In the meeting with the Chinese it was a narrow win, and the Europeans scored the winning goal only at the very end of the game, but the Haitian girls were outclassed confidently. The Danish team scored four goals, although two of them were canceled after VAR review.

Pernille Harder opened the scoring with a penalty and Sanne Troelsgaard, who came off the bench, scored the second goal late in the second half, securing her team’s place in the playoffs. It’s worth noting that no female national team player has scored more than one goal in the group.

Sanne Troelsgaard, scorer of the decisive goal in a game against Haiti

Denmark did not look reliable, so in the playoffs this team should not expect miracles. In the 1/8 finals, the Danes will have to fight not only with the opponent, but also with the stands – they may not be able to cope with the pressure of the fans.

Juventus FC Women representative Sofie Junge was injured before the tournament and is out of action, as is Sara Holmgaard of Everton Women FC. As for the rest, the Danes have a very strong squad capable of reaching the highest stages of the tournament.

Australia form guide: W-L-W

Denmark form guide: W-L-W

Australia vs Denmark Head-To-Head Record:

• March 8, 2017: Australia 1 – 1 Denmark (Algarve Cup);
• June 10, 2021: Denmark 3 – 2 Australia (International Friendly);
• October 11, 2022: Denmark 1 – 3 Australia (International Friendly).

Australia vs Denmark Predicted XI:

Australia’s possible starting lineup (4-4-2): Arnold; Carpenter, Hunt, Kennedy, Catley; Raso, Gorry, Cooney-Cross, Foord; Van Egmond, Fowler.

Denmark’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Christensen; Sevecke, Pedersen, Boye, Veje; Hasbo, Holmgaard, Kuhl; Thomsen, Madsen, Harder.

Statistical preview of the match Australia vs Denmark:

• Australia’s First XI average age is 26.9 yrs. Denmark’s – 26.4 yrs.
• The teams have met each other four times previously, with the Danes winning three times. The previous game ended 3 – 1 in favor of Australia.
• In the last ten matches, Australia have been stronger than their opponents in 80% of the games. While Denmark managed to win only 60% of the matches played over the same distance in all tournaments. 
• Australia’s matches at this edition of the tournament have seen an average of 13 corner kicks served. And in Denmark’s games, teams have approached the corner flag an average of 11 times each.
• The Danish team has not conceded more than two goals in 11 games in a row.

What has been said before the match:

Tony Gustavsson, coach of the Matildas,  talked about the game with Denmark:

“It’s about putting the right player in the right position with the right mindset. And we’ve got that right against Canada. And doing the same against Denmark is going to be key.”

“Not looking at the Canada game as a final because it was just the start of something. So this is the start of a playoff. We’re not going to the end of something. We’re going to the start of something. And that mindset is key for us.”

“We need to be extremely humble and realize that we need to focus on every single second of that game tomorrow and be as solid defensively as we were against Canada, because they have threats, central, right, and left, and in very different ways.”

“It’s going to be a very tough game and we need to bring our A-game. “Everyone has prepared – in penalty shootouts everyone who is in the park may need to take one. Every player has their plan and their routine. You need to be ready.”

“I respect opponents’ defensive work – they were close to drawing with England. They’re a well organized team, pressing team. Individually they have good skills. One mistake can cost you a goal.”

Forward Caitlin Foord is excited to play in Sydney:

“This is my hometown and one of my favorite stadiums. I couldn’t be more excited to be back here. Tomorrow’s a new game, a different game. Myself as an individual and the rest of the girls, we have to be at our best.”

“I think we all know Harder, along with other players in the Denmark team as well, they are quality. If we let them play their best game, they’re players that can change a game in a moment… We’ve always said from the start, if we’re together as a team, work well as a team, and shut down players like that, it’s in our hands.”

Gaffer of Danish team Lars Søndergaard want to ruin Australian party at the World Cup:

“We are going to have our own party if we succeed in ruining a party, and that party is fine for me. Of course, it’s going to be a difficult game, but we see chances and as I said, we live in this dream and we want to continue living there as long as possible and even until the final day of the tournament.”

“As a small country as well, in a way, we’re used to being underdogs when we play against big nations. Australia, as a home team with a lot of spectators behind them, could be said to be favorites and we live very fine with it. We want to surprise them and I think that’s the most important thing that we can do.”

“So that’s the way I expect them to play, dynamic, quick. I think it’s also going to be a very lively game tomorrow.”

Australia vs Denmark Prediction:

Australia seem to be in top form with plenty of motivation. At the same time, the team will play at their fully-packed home stadium, where a massive crowd is going to electrify the blood of their beloved players, which will certainly serve as a supreme booster. The Matildas are also showing great performances in attack and netting a colossal number of goals. And they manage to be able to play their own game in critical moments, for example, they showed their character in the third round, when, being on the verge of elimination, they thrashed Canada 4-0 and took top spot in their group. On average, they strike the goal of their opponents 2.3 times per game, with a total average of 3.3. At the same time, Denmark, with a rather modest attacking prowess, allows their opponents to score an average of 0.3 goals per game which is really solid. In essence, the hostesses of the tournament right now are one of the most competitive collectives in women’s football, so the Danish national team will hardly be able to stop the over-motivated Islanders.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: Australia will win and the match total will be less than 3 – Yes.

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