Soccer World Cup Preview – Group C

On paper Group C looks a relatively straightforward section with top seeds France the strong favourites to top the table and Denmark taking second place. But having emerged from the toughest qualifying tournament in the world, Peru should not be underestimated and neither should the Australians, who won’t lack for determination, fitness or team spirit.

Soccer World Cup Group C Predictions

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Profile: France

They may not be quite as highly rated as the Germans and the Brazilians, but this French squad is blessed with one of the strongest squads in world football. From their solid and experienced back line, to the array of midfield options in N’Golo Kante, Blaise Matuidi, Paul Pogba, and a pool of exciting forwards including Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Alexander Lacazette and Anthony Martial, Didier Deschamps has more options than any other manager in world football, with the possible exception of Joachim Low.

The French have three other factors in their favour. This is a largely settled squad, with none of the personality clashes or disciplinary issues that have doomed previous French campaigns. They are on the up, having reached the quarter-finals in 2014 and the final at Euro 2016, and they are hungry. The disappointment of Paris two summers ago will still be fresh in their memories and this is largely a young team yet to achieve the success their talent indicates is their due. Still, they aren’t invulnerable. Their occasional difficulty in breaking down stubborn opponents is likely to be exposed more than once at this tournament, and the youthful attack may need to find an extra level of maturity to cope with the bigger games.

Soccer World Cup Prediction: Top of Group C and a Final appearance

Getting out of Group C won’t be a problem and given the make-up of this section, France have realistic hopes of gaining maximum points. A straightforward Round of 16 tie against Croatia or Nigeria is likely to be followed by Uruguay, Russia, Spain or Portugal in the quarter-finals, with Uruguay and Portugal in particular likely to offer the kind of stubborn opposition that has caused France problems in the past. Brazil lie in wait in the semi-finals, and can match the French for forward firepower, but not for defensive resilience and in what could be a classic encounter, France will be confident of edging through to the Final.

Profile: Denmark

After a period of decline, Denmark are back, and generating the kind of excitement among their fans that hasn’t been seen since the mid 1980s. This current squad may not be quite as special as the team that included Michael Laudrup, Jesper Olsen, and Jan Molby, but in Christian Eriksen, they have a player worthy of comparison with Laudrup, and they have a direct style of play that will cause some opponents difficulty this summer. They are solid at the back and have some good goal-scoring options beside Eriksen in Thomas Delaney and Nicolai Jorgensen. That said, they lack strength in depth and the suspicion is that their gung-ho style of play will come unstuck against more technically adept rivals.

Soccer World Cup Prediction: 2^nd in Group C, but out in the Round of 16

Denmark don’t have the kind of stubborn defensive organisation that can cause France problems so their best chance of progressing will be to take at least four points from their games against Peru and Australia. After that, things get trickier. The final Group C game against France will give them some idea of where they stand, but Argentina loom in the Round of 16, and that may be as far as Denmark go.

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Profile: Peru

Under coach Ricardo Gareca, Peru have developed a style of play that is both pleasing on the eye and effective. A young, but disciplined and mentally strong team, they focus on short, quick passing and retention of possession and have some underrated talent in their ranks. The reliable Pedro Gallese is a fine goalkeeper, Alberto Rodríguez leads the defence well, while Yoshimar Yotún is dominant in midfield and Christian Cueva brings a level of creativity that could cause their Group C opponents some problems. In contrast to many smaller teams at the World Cup, Peru will not park the bus. Whether they can succeed by going toe to toe with the likes of France and Denmark remains to be seen.

Soccer World Cup Prediction: 3^rd in Group C

The draw has not been helpful for Peru. They start off with the key game of the Group stage, against Denmark and if they were to lose that one, their tournament would be over before it started. They are likely to earn plenty of friends among neutrals for their style of play but a consolation win in their final game against Australia may be all they have to show for it.

Profile: Australia

Australia certainly had to work hard to earn their fifth trip to the World Cup. Their quest took them to Japan, Malaysia, Honduras and Saudi Arabia, and the resilience that saw them through qualification will be a plus, as will their hard-working ethos. In terms of talent, however, they look woefully short. Tim Cahill is their sole world-class player, and most likely source of goals, and there could be more to come from Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic and Massimo Luongo, but otherwise, their squad looks bare. The fact that they will go into this tournament with a new manager in Bert van Marwijk won’t help either.

Read More: 12 Awesome Soccer World Cup Fact

Soccer World Cup Prediction: 4^th in Group C

The Aussies kick off against France, but the key games will be against Denmark and Peru. A draw in Colombia in the spring offers some hope that they can match the South Americans, but a 4-1 thrashing by Norway prior to that doesn’t bode well for their chances against the Danes. Van Marwijk’s side are capable of picking up a point along the way, but much more than that looks beyond them and an early exit beckons.

Soccer World Cup Group Previews and Predictions

Soccer World Cup Preview – Group A (Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay)
Soccer World Cup Preview – Group B (Portugal, Spain, Morocco, IR Iran)
Soccer World Cup Preview – Group C (France, Australia, Peru, Denmark)
Soccer World Cup Preview – Group D (Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria)
Soccer World Cup Preview – Group E (Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia)
Soccer World Cup Preview – Group F (Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea)
Soccer World Cup Preview – Group G (Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England)
Soccer World Cup Preview – Group H (Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan)

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 *Please note – odds mentioned above are correct at time of publishing but are subject to change, so always check the latest published odds to be fully certain before betting.

**Certain tournaments had slightly different formats in the past, so the placing most aligned to the current tournament format has been chosen.