Australia beat Denmark to pull off a huge upset as the Socceroos advanced from Group D and are in the last 16 of the World Cup for just the second time in their history.
Matthew Leckie was the hero for Australia as he struck in the second half, just moments after Tunisia had taken the lead against France in the other Group D game which mean that Australia were out of the World Cup. For about two minutes they were, but then Leckie did the business.
[ LIVE: World Cup 2022 schedule, how to watch, scores, hub ]
For Denmark this was an extremely disappointing World Cup as the team ranked No. 10 in the world scored just once and picked up just one point from their three group stage games.
Australia’s boss Graham Arnold and his players celebrated wildly at the final whistle as they were one of the rank outsiders at this tournament but back-to-back 1-0 wins against Tunisia and Denmark put them into the knockout rounds.
[ MORE: Group D standings, schedule, scores ]
Aussie defense dominant as Socceroos spring into last 16
It wasn’t pretty, at all, but boy was it effective. Australia’s back-to-back shutout victories propelled them into the last 16 of the World Cup for just the second time in their history and Graham Arnold was delighted with the grit and organization of his team. Australia have players on the break like Leckie and McGree who can hurt you and the quality of Mooy in midfield allows them to keep the ball and take the pressure off when needed. Ryan in goal has been excellent, while Souttar stood tall in a brilliant back four display as the stat below shows how resilient they’ve been. Australia will be tough opponents in the knockout rounds and nobody expected the No. 38 ranked team in the world to get out of the group stage. They’re now playing with house money which makes them even more dangerous.
Australia have qualified for the Knockout Stage, despite conceding the most xG of any team so far this World Cup (5.97).
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) November 30, 2022
Stars of the show
Matthew Leckie: Scored the winning goal with the main piece of quality shown throughout the game by both teams. What a moment in Australia soccer history.
Harry Souttar: Another dominant display from the center back and he’s having a wonderful tournament to lead the stubborn Aussie defense.
How to watch Australia vs Denmark live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 10am ET - Wednesday, November 30Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium, Al WakrahTV channels en Español: TelemundoStreaming en Español: Peacock (all 64 matches)
What a goal by Matthew Leckie!
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 30, 2022
As things stand, Australia will head to the Round of 16!
(via @TelemundoSports)pic.twitter.com/gbcn1dgOHG
Key storylines, players to watch closely
Australia will set up exactly the same as they did against Tunisia as they will whip in balls to Mitchell Duke who was the hero with his superb flicked header. Both Duke and Arnold pointed to the ‘Aussie Spirit’ getting them the win against Tunisia and there is a real grit and determination about this team.
STARTING XI 🗒️
— Subway Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 30, 2022
Presenting our starting side for today's Group D decider against Denmark 👊🇦🇺
⚽ 2am AEDT, 6pm local
📺💻📱: SBS, SBS On Demand#GiveIt100 #Socceroos #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/uuMllicH0O
Denmark know they have to win, so they will go for a more attack-minded lineup and they have the quality to beat Australia. They start Braithwaite in attack as they try to get something going offensively and this is basically a knockout game in the group stage.
Vores startopstilling til den altafgørende kamp mod Australien 💪🏼
— Fodboldlandsholdene 🇩🇰 (@dbulandshold) November 30, 2022
Kom så drengene!#ForDanmark #worldcup
📸 @fbbillederdk pic.twitter.com/32QDvA5Sgh
Australia quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 38
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 5
How they qualified: Qualified from AFC via the intercontinental playoffs
Coach: Graham Arnold
Key players: Mathew Ryan, Aaron Mooy, Mathew Leckie
Denmark quick facts
Current FIFA world ranking: 10
World Cup titles: 0
World Cup appearances: 5
How they qualified: Qualified automatically from UEFA (Won Group F)
Coach: Kasper Hjulmand
Key players: Kasper Schmeichel, Simon Kjaer, Christian Eriksen
