France is coming off a significant victory over Australia going into their second World Cup game, but Denmark has good cause to feel confident going into a critical Group D match.
Kasper Hjulmand’s Denmark will look to emulate their Nation’s League success against France, when they won back-to-back matches against Didier Deschamps’ team this year. Tunisia and Tunisia had to settle for a point following a scoreless draw in their opening match.
A victory for France at the Stadium 974 today will seal their place in Round of 16 irrespective of the result of today’s another group game between Tunisia and Australia at the Al Janoub Stadium.
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Deschamps said France must reverse the results of the Nation’s League as he expected a tough challenge from the Danes.
“Denmark are underestimated and they caused us lots of trouble so we need to make sure that’s not the case tomorrow,” Deschamps told a pre-match press conference yesterday.
““It is a team that can change systems, which can lead to more difficulties. We know the Denmark players and they know us.”
French captain Hugo Lloris said Denmark are capable of beating any team in the world.
“We can’t say we don’t know them, don’t need any extra motivation at this stage of the tournament. We know it’s a decisive game for qualification,” the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper told reporters.
Deschamps, meanwhile, said Manchester United defender Raphael Varane, who missed the opening game against Australia, was ready to return against Denmark.
“He could have played the first game. He was fit. It’s not yesterday’s session that will change much. He is not less fit or more for the second,” the French coach said.
Despite conceding an early goal against Australia, France claimed a thumping win against the Socceroos with Olivier Giroud scoring two goals. PSG star Kylian Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot were also on target in the 4-1 win.
Hjulmand said France are tough but Denmark have their own strength.
Denmark’s players take part in a training session with teammates at Al Sailiya SC in Doha, yesterday. AFP
“It’s an important match for us after a draw in first game. The way they played against Australia was also a bit different than the two games we played against them. France are a top side and they are the champions but we also know how strong we are,” the Denmark coach said.
Hjulmand also praised 36-year-old French veteran Giroud, who equaled Thierry Henry’s record as France’s all-time top scorer – goal number 51 for France – against Australia.
“A player like Olivier Giroud is very, very good at what he can do. It’s nice to see more and more goal scorers at an older age use their experience in the way of moving in the box, of being dangerous.
“They have more composure in their finishing, possession. I think Giroud also shows that he is probably even better than before,” he said.
Both the teams have an even record in their past three World Cup matches with France winning in 1998 followed by a win for Denmark four years later.
They played a draw in Russia four years ago. The Les Bleus are unbeaten in their last eight World Cup matches, equalling their longest unbeaten streak at the finals, which they achieved in two previous editions.
When: Today at 4:00pm
Where: Stadium 974 (Capacity: 44,089)
Key stats:
* Denmark beat France twice in the recent Nations League campaign, winning 2-1 in Paris and following that up with a 2-0 victory in Copenhagen.
* The French are the current world champions, while Denmark made it to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 despite playmaker Christian Eriksen suffering a heart attack in their first group game against Finland.
* France have won the World Cup twice (1998, 2018), while Denmark’s best performance came in France in 1998, where they made the quarter-finals
* French striker Olivier Giroud needs one more goal to become his country’s all-time leading top scorer – the 36-year-old is tied with Thierry Henry on 51 goals after netting twice in their opener against Australia.
Previous meetings:
The two teams have met 16 times in total, with eight wins for France and six for Denmark.
