France set to dominate Group C

2018 World Cup, Group C

Dates – 16-26 June, 2018
Venues – Kazan, Saransk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Sochi
 
France are expected to dominate Group C at the 2018 World Cup, with Didier Deschamps and his ‘Les Bleus’ team boasting far more depth of talent than Australia, Peru and Denmark. Of the latter trio, the Danes are best equipped to challenge France and probably join them in advancing to the knockout rounds.

 
France proved their pedigree by topping arguably the toughest qualifying group in the UEFA qualifiers, as they finished ahead of tough-to-beat Sweden and traditional football giants the Netherlands, who are one of the biggest names to miss out on 2018. The French ooze class throughout the squad, but the standouts are Raphael Varane, Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Antoine Griezmann.
 
Denmark do not possess the same strength on paper, but the former European champions have a knack of upping their game for big tournaments. Under the guidance of Norwegian coach Age Hareide, the ‘Red-White’ finished runners-up to Poland in their UEFA qualifying group before thrashing Republic of Ireland 5-1 on aggregate in the playoffs. Their key man and most-gifted player is Tottenham Hotspur schemer Christian Eriksen.
 


Australia had a difficult qualification campaign which saw them finish behind just behind Japan and Saudi Arabia in their AFC group, before having to tough it out inplayoff ties against Syria and Honduras. The ‘Socceroos’ won the latter tie 3-1 on aggregate thanks to a hat-trick in the second leg from Mile Jedinak – that they needed a 33-year-old defensive midfielder to come up with three goals (while 38-year-old veteran Tim Cahill was the decisive figure against Syria) tells the tale of an ageing team lacking in attacking potency.
 

 
Finally, Peru are returning to the finals for the first time since 1982. They performed way above expectations in finishing fifth on the CONMEBOL qualifying table (ahead of Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela) before getting the better of New Zealand in an inter-continental playoff tie. ‘Los Incas’ have no household names, but they’re a well-organised, tough-to-beat outfit and will have genuine hope of unsettling the European duo in this group.
 
Group C fixtures (all times CAT)
 
16 June 2018, 12h00 – France v Australia – Kazan Arena, Kazan
16 June 2018, 18h00 – Peru v Denmark – Mordovia Arena, Saransk
21 June 2018, 14h00 – Denmark v Australia – Cosmos Arena, Samara
21 June 2018, 17h00 – France v Peru – Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg
26 June 2018, 16h00 – Denmark v France – Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
26 June 2018, 16h00 – Australia v Peru – Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
 


Group C head-to-heads (as per FIFA stats database, in reference to ‘home’ team)
 
France v Australia – P4 W2 D1 L1 GF8 GA2
Peru v Denmark – No previous matches
Denmark v Australia – P3 W2 D0 L1 GF5 GA2
France v Peru – P1 W0 D0 L1 GF0 GA1
Denmark v France – P15 W6 D1 L8 GF37 GA20
Australia v Peru – No previous matches
 
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