Australia plays Denmark for last 16 spot at World Cup
Denmark are still the odds on favourites after a hard-fought victory over Denmark on Tuesday night, but can they keep their place at the World Cup?
Denmark had already booked their place at the World Cup Final by beating Greece 4-0 on Saturday, and a comfortable win over a determined Greek side in Tallinn proved the perfect opportunity to move above them into a second-place finish behind Spain at the tournament in Brazil.
Both teams were full of spirit and character, and were determined to play football despite being at the very back of their nations, with Greece playing with a great spirit. But the Danes were the more clinical, while Greece, despite having a big lead at the start, became frustrated and lost their defensive shape and the match. Both nations now face the same task of getting through to the Semi-Finals, where they will face each other on 14 June (Sunday morning) for that final place.
In England, it is still early to be making judgments, as they are still playing out the remainder of their group, and, before they do, they need to get through to the knockout stage.
For Greece, finishing second in the group will mean they will probably start the Finals the following Monday against a tough Netherlands side, who won 4-3 at Gullit Stadium on Wednesday night, thus gaining one point for the hosts.
There are a lot more questions than answers at the moment. But the key questions are this:
Can their opponents make it easier for the Danes? Greece were able to gain an extra point on Wednesday night, and had that, they would have qualified. But Greece have a very good home record against their opponents, and will be keen to avoid that trend for fear of any early elimination. Denmark on the other hand have had to come from behind in their last few matches, and if they could avoid any early shocks they will have a real confidence boost heading into this World Cup.
Can they get past the Netherlands? It is highly unlikely, for two reasons: The
