World Cup defending champions France will look to make it two wins in two games when they take on Denmark at the historic Stadium 974 in Doha.
Venue: Stadium 974 (Doha)
Key Statistics
France have kept only one clean sheet in their last seven games.
They have scored 2+ goals in 10 of their last 20 matches
France failed to qualify for the knockout stages only once after winning their World Cup opening match, which was back in 1930.
Denmark have avoided defeat in their second group stage game across their previous five World Cup appearances, too (W2, D3), with all three draws seeing them score first within the opening 16 minutes.
The Danes won their previous World Cup game against a reigning world champion – a 2-0 triumph over France in 2002.
Head to head
France have lost the previous two H2Hs with Denmark in the Nations League earlier this year, whilst being shut out the last two times they met in the World Cup (D1, L1).
Nine of the previous 12 H2Hs have precisely witnessed the victorious side score two goals.
Latest performances in all competitions
France: W-L-WL-D-D
Denmark: D-W-L-W-L
France
France began their World Cup title defence in the best possible way as they secured a 4-1 win over Australia despite trailing inside the opening ten minutes.
The defending champions conceded early in the game when Craig Goodwin found the net after good work by Mathew Leckie. But they regrouped to seal a huge 4-1 thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud, Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe.
The win, and Tunisia’s goalless draw with Denmark in the other Group D game means that Les Bleus sit on top of their group. They can seal qualification to the next Round with a win here, with a game to spare.
To achieve that, manager Didier Deschamps stated that his team would have to “play a big game” against a Denmark side that has beaten them in their last meetings. The defending world champions lost to Denmark in the Nations League earlier this year, while they have also failed to win or even score against the Danes the last two times both sides met in the World Cup (D1, L1).
But with confidence booming after their win over Australia, they will fancy their chances of getting a good result here.
Possible France starting line-up
Injured: Hugo Lloris, Benjamin Pavard, Ibrahima Konate, Dayot Upamecano, Theo Hernandez, Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud.
Injured: Lucas Hernandez
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Denmark
Denmark struggled to replicate their World Cup qualifiers form in the tournament proper as they were held to a goalless draw against a stubborn Tunisia side last Tuesday.
Kasper Hjulmand’s side enjoyed a near-perfect qualifying campaign (W9, L1), in which they scored three goals per game on average. However, they could only muster four shots on target against Tunisia after over 100 minutes of football. That result led to coach Kasper Hjulmand stating that progression “will be more complicated.”
However, head coach Hjulmand remained positive, adding, “it’s not over; we still have a chance”. He has good reason to say that if you consider that five of the six teams that started the competition with a draw in the 2018 edition qualified for the knockout stages.
Rød-Hvide have avoided defeat in their second group stage game across their previous five World Cup appearances, too (W2, D3), with all three draws seeing them score first within the opening 16 minutes. Having beaten France twice already this year, they will fancy their chances of another win over the reigning champions, who they beat 2-0 in the 2002 World Cup when France were also defending champions.
Possible Denmark starting line-up
Kasper Schmeichel, Joachim Andersen, Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjær, Rasmus Nissen Kristensen, Mikkel Damsgaard, Pierre Emil Højbjerg, Christian Eriksen, Joakim Maehle, Kasper Dolberg, Andreas Skov Olsen.
Injured: Thomas Delaney
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
| France to win | Draw | Denmark to win | |
| Odds | 1.72 | 3.75 | 4.75 |
| Probability (%) | 55 | 25 | 20 |
Prediction
France 2-1 Denmark
Live Stream
For details, FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 – TV Broadcast / Live Stream
