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FIFA WORLD CUP 2018

FIFA WORLD CUP 2018 – Denmark vs France PREVIEW





France have already secured qualification to the next round, however they’ll be looking to improve their performance. Meanwhile Denmark have grinded out results and have put themselves in a situation where a draw is enough to send them through. It’s a great chance for Denmark to get out of the group, but the job has not been done yet.


DENMARK


Denmark so far have had a successful start to the tournament and while many would agree that they’ve rode their luck it still doesn’t change the fact that they’re just one step away from advancing to round of 16. Denmark have picked up a 1-0 win against Peru in their opener and then drew 1-1 against Australia picking up 4 points out of the first 6. Denmark are currently sat second in the group and either a draw/win here or Australia failing to win will get them into the round of 16. Denmark have pretty much been carried by their star man Christian Eriksen who took part in both of their goals in the tournament, assisting the first one against Peru and then providing a bit of magic scoring a fantastic goal against Australia. The other very important man would have to be Kasper Schmeichel. He’s made some really important saves in both games to deny their opponents and he is currently challenging Eriksen for the most important player for Denmark. Without these two, Danish other players have been average. Jorgensen has not been a goal scoring striker that they needed him to be, Sisto has failed to provide in the final third and many others could perform better. But in the end even with poor performances, Denmark have grinded out results and are in good position.


In this final group game, Denmark will be facing their biggest task. Facing France, will really tell us where Denmark are. France are good from top to bottom and are one of the title contending nations so for Denmark organisation all around has to be solid. Players such as Schmeichel, Christensen, Eriksen and Sisto are the biggest keys in this game going from the back to the front. All four of them have to be on their game for Denmark to succeed. France will have moments where they click and create lots of chances which is where Schmeichel will have to make crucial saves Denmark. But going forward we can definitely expect Denmark to have moments too. French full backs are their biggest weakness and with a winger like Sisto going forward, Denmark got to hope he’s on his game as he’s the type of player who can absolutely torch defenders when he’s clicking and coming up against Pavard at RB this is a great chance for Sisto to have a game of his life as Pavard has been very shaky. Don’t have any worries with Eriksen, he always puts in a shift and expect him to do so in this game too. But other than that, Danish strikers either Jorgensen or Cornelius have to be more useful because so far they’ve been absolutely useless. Denmark have weapons and can punish France, it’s a daunting task but they’ve beaten France at a world cup before. They may get away by losing, but it is a risk so Denmark must be engaged, they cannot blink for a moment and hopefully in the end they pull something out. It’s not like France have been in world beating form yet.


FRANCE


The French have already qualified to the next round, but they’ve faced their fair share of critics even after winning both games. France have looked sloppy and their performances would probably get punished by a better side, but so far they’ve had luck go their way winning 2-1 against Australia and 1-0 against Peru with two winning goals literally coming because off deflections from opposing players. France have failed to outplay both Australia and Peru, but even after poor performances and criticism, France do have a 100% win percentage so it’s not all bad after all right? It’s the same way they’ve started the world cup the way they did the Euros 2 years ago and we know how far they went. In this tournament the players that have stood out would have to be Kante, Pogba and Mbappe. Kante-Pogba midfield has been absolutely class, Kante constantly winning the ball back and advancing it forward like he always does at club level while Pogba has shown decent quality himself too. Mbappe has been the only forward who has impressed so far, put in a very good shift against Peru. Otherwise, the French team has been ok. Griezmann a now show, Dembele not done much and their full backs have been very shaky. We can’t give up on France however, they can always turn the switch on and start blowing off opponents with the talent that they have just like we saw in the Euros two years ago. Expect them to go into this game against Denmark looking to play their best football, we may see rotation but can’t see them giving the game up just because they’re through since they simply have to improve on their game going into the next round.


Now against Denmark, France will of course be expected to improve. Expect a rotated side, but a side that will be looking to pick up a win. France can’t mess around because a loss would drop them to second and they’d have to face a very in form Croatian side which France would not want to meet under the current circumstances. France need to make sure to get Griezmann going because he’s not been performing on the world class level he’s capable of. France need especially be wary of Christian Eriksen because that’s the Danish player who can pick out a pass and create a chance out of nothing which is a huge danger for France. The French full backs Pavard and Lucas have to play better. Pavard has been very shaky and coming up against pacey Sisto who is very talented and on his day could torch any full back. Pavard has to make sure he doesn’t allow Sisto to feel comfortable on that pitch because that could lead to France being punished. It won’t be an easy game for France, but they are the favourites here, they can’t afford to lose. A win would always help them with confidence plus they need to find a way to get the media off their backs. Can’t see France giving Denmark any points, they’ll make them earn it.


Prediction


In this game we will most likely see Denmark sit back and try to hit France on the counter attack. They have no reason to throw bodies forward as a draw is enough to put them through. Denmark have played on the back foot this entire tournament and has gotten results out of it so there’s no point in switching up the play style especially against the French side as throwing bodies forward would only leave more spaces at the back for players like Pogba, Mbappe, Griezmann or any other forward to exploit. Denmark have a decent defence and a good keeper so we can trust them to make it tough on France. France will attack, they’ll try to continue and improve and we can expect a better performance by them. Overall looking at it, I think the French team will have their best performance of the tournament. It will be a tough match but can’t go against France. Expect a 0-2/1-2 win for France, they are simply better than Denmark in every aspect of the game.




Group Standings


1 France 6 pts +2 GD


2 Denmark 4 pts +1 GD


3 Australia 1 pt -1 GD


4 Peru 0 pts -2 GD




ODDS – Decimal (WilliamHill)


Denmark Win – 4.20


Draw – 2.62


France Win – 2.25



KICK OFF – 26th June 2018 – 3pm UK Time

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