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

Date Venue Team Odds Team Odds Draw Odds
16/6 Kazan France 1.23 Australia 20.00 6.80
16/6 Saransk Peru 3.92 Denmark 2.15 3.55
21/6 Samara Denmark 1.80 Australia 5.65 3.75
21/6 Yekaterinburg France 1.38 Peru 11.00 5.20
26/6 Moscow Denmark 6.50 France 1.75 3.90
26/6 Sochi Australia 3.60 Peru 2.36 3.52

 

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Profile: France

France Soccer world cup

FIFA Ranking 7 World Cup Base Moscow
How they qualified Winners of European Group A
Form in 2017/18 Played 8, Won 5, Drawn 2, Lost 1 (4 friendlies)

 

World Cup Record
Played 59 Draws 12 Scored 106 Penalty Shoot-Out Wins
Wins 28 Losses 19 Conceded 71 2 out of 4

 

Group Stage Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
1930, 1934, 1954, 1966,1978, 2002, 2010 1938, 2014 1958, 1982, 1986 1998, 2006

 

World Cup Head to Head Records:
vs Denmark: Played 2, Won 1 Last Match: Lost 0-2, 2002, Group Stage
vs Australia: Never met
vs Peru: Never met

 

Various Odds of Interest
Outright Winner: 8.0 Group A Winner: 1.33
To Reach Final: 4.0 Elimination Stage: Semi-Final (5.0)
Top Goalscorer: Griezemann (3.0), Lacazette (6.5), Mbappe (7.0), Giroud (7.0)

 

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.

Pogba World CupThe 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

Denmark

FIFA Ranking 12 World Cup Base Anapa
How they qualified 2nd in European Group E, won play-off against Republic of Ireland
Form in 2017/18 Played 6, Won 3, Drawn 3, Lost 0 (2 friendlies)

 

World Cup Record
Played 25 Draws 2 Scored 27 Penalty Shoot-Out Wins
Wins 8 Losses 6 Conceded 24 0 out of 0

 

Group Stage Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
2010 1986, 2002 1998

 

World Cup Head to Head Records:
vs France: Played 2, Won 1 Last Match: Won 2-0, 2002, Group Stage
vs Peru: Never met
vs Australia: Never met

 

Various Odds of Interest
Outright Winner: 101.0 Group A Winner: 7
To Reach Final: 34.0 Elimination Stage: Round of 16 (2.7)
Top Goalscorer: Eriksen (3.0), Jorgensen (6.0), Cornelius (8.0), Bendtner (11)

 

Denmark World CupAfter 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: 2nd 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

FIFA Ranking 11 World Cup Base Moscow
How they qualified Fifth in CONMEBOL Qualifying, won play-off against New Zealand
Form in 2017/18 Played 8, Won 5, Drawn 3, Lost 0 (2 friendlies)

 

World Cup Record
Played 15 Draws 3 Scored 19 Penalty Shoot-Out Wins
Wins 4 Losses 8 Conceded 31 0 out of 0

 

Group Stage Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
1930, 1982 1978 1970

 

World Cup Head to Head Records:
vs France: Never met
vs Denmark: Never met
vs Australia: Never met

 

Various Odds of Interest
Outright Winner: 201.0 Group A Winner: 12.5
To Reach Final: 126.0 Elimination Stage: Group Stage (1.44)
Top Goalscorer: Farfan (3.0), Ruidiaz (6.0), Cueva (7.0), Flores (7.0)

 

Christian CuevaUnder 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: 3rd 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

FIFA Ranking 40 World Cup Base Kazan
How they qualified Third in Asian Group B, won play-offs against Syria and Honduras
Form in 2017/18 Played 6, Won 1, Drawn 4, Lost 1 (2 friendlies)

 

World Cup Record
Played 13 Draws 3 Scored 11 Penalty Shoot-Out Wins
Wins 2 Losses 8 Conceded 26 0 out of 0

 

Group Stage Round of 16 Quarterfinal Semifinal Final
1974, 2010, 2014 2006

 

World Cup Head to Head Records:
vs France: Never met
vs Denmark: Never met
vs Australia: Never met

 

Various Odds of Interest
Outright Winner: 501.0 Group A Winner: 34
To Reach Final: 326.0 Elimination Stage: Round of 16 (6.0)
Top Goalscorer: Cahill (6.0), Juric (6.0), Jedinak (8.0), Leckie (9.0)

 

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: 4th 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.

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