Despite the abundance of attacking talent possessed by the world champion France, Denmark defender Andreas Christensen is not frightened of facing them.
When France resumes Group D duties against Denmark at Stadium 974 on Saturday night, they will have the opportunity to lock up a spot in the 2022 World Cup’s knockout rounds. Les Bleus began their title defence this week by crushing Australia 4-1, while Kasper Hjulmand’s team was held to a scoreless draw by Tunisia.
The France men’s national team now has 2 former Arsenal strikers at the top of the all-time goalscoring charts, but Olivier Giroud’s record-tying double versus Australia on Tuesday may mean that Thierry Henry won’t be able to enjoy his perch for much longer.
Craig Goodwin scored the game’s opening goal for Craig Deschamps’ team, who had struggled in the UEFA Nations League over the summer. However, Giroud’s 50th and 51st goals for France, along with headers from Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe, changed the course of the match.
Karim Benzema’s injury-related absence allows Giroud to surpass Henry and score a record-breaking 52nd goal for his nation, which may very well secure France’s spot in the round of 16. Giroud only needs to make the net ripple once more to break Henry’s previous mark of 51 goals.
The reigning champions are confidently in the lead in Group D and, with a victory, will move on to the knockout rounds. Tunisia and Australia might even clinch 1st place if their match results in a draw. The last time the World Cup hosts won their opening match was Brazil in 2006, but now that they have broken that curse, France can attempt to win six straight games at a World Cup finals for the first time ever. The last team to accomplish this feat was the golden generation of Spain in 2010.
Denmark’s opening match against Tunisia was a forgettable affair, save for Christian Eriksen, who was able to show off some of the midfield flair that has made him popular with Manchester United fans. This was Eriksen’s 1st major international tournament appearance since his cardiac arrest.
Tunisia would’ve have felt the most wronged not to have earned all 3 points in one of the rare 0-0 draws that happened in round one, despite having to fend off a late VAR confirmation for a possible penalty on Yassine Meriah’s handball. Despite being in third place in Group D and separated from second-place Tunisia by fair play points, Hjulmand has now acknowledged that his team faces “complicated” situation. However, regardless of what happens this weekend, they will still have a chance to place in the top two.
As the only team to play out 5 consecutive draws on the greatest stage in the world, the Danish country could make World Cup history in this match after drawing their last four games. However, there are some encouraging signs for this Danish team as they have now kept 3 clean sheets in their previous 4 matches.
In fact, they defeated France 2-0 in their final match before the World Cup in the Nations League after also winning 2-1 in June. They also defeated Les Bleus 2-0 in the 2002 World Cup’s group stage while France was the defending champion.
France Team News
Before Deschamps selected his team, after Deschamps selected his squad, and now during their World Cup journey, France have been plagued by injuries. On Tuesday, left-back Lucas Hernandez tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the buildup to Australia’s goal by Goodwin.
The Bayern Munich player will not be participating in the remainder of the World Cup as he prepares for months of recovery. Instead, he will hand the ball to his brother Theo Hernandez, who performed admirably after taking over for his injured relative.
Due to a hip injury, Deschamps was also without Kingsley Coman in Friday’s training session, but Raphael Varane was deemed healthy enough to play against the Socceroos in place of Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate at the back.
Upamecano and Konate won’t feel as though they deserved to lose their positions, but a fully fit Varane will undoubtedly be given consideration, and the unfortunate Liverpool player may be the one to withdraw.
France possible starting lineup:
Hugo Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Upamecano, Theo Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Olivier Giroud
Player to watch
Olivier Giroud
Giroud, who is attempting to set a new record by scoring 52 goals for his country, could join Tom Finney in 1958 as the only players 36 or older to score in consecutive World Cup games.
France has scored four goals in both of their most recent World Cup matches, the 2018 final against Croatia and this year’s match against Australia, so Giroud should have plenty of support. However, Denmark has kept a clean sheet in 3 of their last 5 World Cup matches, just one fewer than they had achieved in their first 16 games of the competition.
Denmark Team News
Similar circumstances to Hernandez’s have troubled Denmark, as Sevilla midfield player Delaney, who was substituted against Tunisia at halftime due to a knee injury, has also been forced to withdraw from the competition in order to recover for a month.
Other than Delaney’s injury, Hjulmand has no new worries heading into Saturday’s game. As a result, he should think about moving Eriksen and Hojbjerg into a deeper role, which would free up either Mikkel Damsgaard or Jesper Lindstrom to join the attack.
After hitting the post against Tunisia from a yard away, Andreas Cornelius had one of the worst misses in World Cup history. The 29-year-old should only be given a backup role here alongside the injured Poulsen.
Denmark possible starting lineup:
Kasper Schmeichel; Andersen, Christensen, Simon Kjaer; Kristensen, Hojbjerg, Eriksen, Maehle; Skov Olsen, Dolberg, Mikkel Damsgaard
Player to watch
Christian Eriksen
Eriksen struggled to get going against Tunisia, but when he did in the second half, Denmark increased its pressure. More opportunities were created by the playmaker than by any other player in the game. In fact, Michael Laudrup is the only player to have given Denmark more chances in a single World Cup game.
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