It’s crunch time in the group stages at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Australia will take on Denmark on Thursday morning in one of the most important matches in Socceroos history. Jake Smit Previews the fixture and brings you his best bet!
2022 FIFA World Cup Betting Tips
Australia vs Denmark
Thursday 2am AEDT, Al Janoub Stadium
Providing Tunisia don’t cause a boil over and defeat France, Australia will need only one point against Denmark to progress through to the Round of 16 for only the second time in their history. Meanwhile, a win for the Danes should be enough to see them progress through to the next round, just as they did in Russia in 2018.
Australia
Australia’s humiliating 4-1 loss to France in their opening game resulted in them starting as the big $3.75 underdogs against Tunisia on Saturday night. Despite the odds, the Aussies started brilliantly and took the early lead courtesy of a phenomenal Mitch Duke header in the 23rd minute. In the end, that goal was enough to secure Australia their third ever win at the World Cup Finals.
Not only was that 1-0 result a rare win for the Socceroos on the big stage, but it was also just their second ever clean sheet in 18 matches at the World Cup Finals. Matt Ryan looked impenetrable between the posts at times, but Harry Souttar was the clear standout in defence with his elite composure and timely tackles.
The Socceroos now have a golden opportunity to make it to the last 16 in Qatar. The only other time they achieved such a feat was at the 2006 World Cup in Germany when they lost a heartbreaker in the Round of 16 against eventually champions, Italy.
Australia possible starting lineup:
Ryan; Karacic, Souttar, Rowles, Behich; Leckie, Irvine, Mooy, McGree, Goodwin; Duke
Denmark
Despite having five shots on target against Tunisia in their opening game of the Finals, Denmark failed to score and had to settle for a goalless draw. They then faced one of the toughest tests in world football when taking on the defending champions, France in their second game, and while they created a couple of decent chances and managed to find the back of the net, they eventually came away without a point in a 2-1 loss.
Alarmingly, the Danes have given up 34 shot attempts to their opponents through two fixtures, which is the third most in the tournament behind only Serbia and their upcoming opponents in Australia.
Previous to Qatar, the Danes had qualified for four of the last six World Cups and had made it out of the group stage on three occasions. They have it all to do if they’re to make it to the Round of 16 this time around.
Denmark possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Andersen, Kjaer, Christensen; Kristensen, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Maehle; Skov Olsen, Dolberg, Damsgaard
Prediction
Australia are no strangers to starting World Cup matches as big underdogs and that will be the case again on Thursday morning. At the time of writing, you can get as good as $7 for the Socceroos to win, while Denmark are quoted at as short as $1.45 at some bookmakers.
These teams also met in the group stages at Russia in 2018 and played out a 1-1 draw. It’s highly likely that a similar result will be enough for the Socceroos to qualify for the Round of 16 instead of the Danes this time around.
Denmark clearly have a talent edge on paper, but their performances thus far have left a lot to be decided. With that said, backing the Socceroos to either win or draw looks to be the best way to bet on this fixture.
Australia Win or Draw
$2.70
