It all comes down to the final group stage game, with Australia fighting to earn a result against Denmark in a bid to reach the round of 16 for the first time since 2006.
The Australians and the Danes go to war on Thursday morning (AEDT) and the Green and Gold will be desperate to clinch at the very least a draw which, assuming Tunisia does not beat France, will be enough to see them advance to the knockout rounds.
Socceroos coach Graham Arnold is wary of the difficult challenge they will face from their opponents, who are currently ranked tenth in the world, though he stressed that their best chance of success is by concentrating on themselves.
“Denmark have been a top team throughout Europe for a long, long time and we’ve been watching them for a long, long time. We can only do so much with worrying about them. It’s more, the focus has to be on ourselves…it’s about getting our game right,” Mr Arnold said to media in the pre-match press conference.
Arnold is hoping his side can deliver another fantastic result, looking to the Australian supporters at home as inspiration after their impassioned celebrations following their win over Tunisia.
“It just shows you how football is alive and well in Australia and, again, it’s about getting our performance right. It’s about making sure we’re ready to go and once again putting smiles on Australian faces. Once is not enough, let’s do it some more times,” Arnold said.
Socceroo veteran Mathew Leckie, who is playing in his third World Cup, has complete confidence in the team’s abilities as they seek to repeat the efforts of 2006.
“We’ve worked so hard to get to this position and we’ve always believed we can create something special. When the Socceroos got out of the group in ’06, I was a proud fan and now we have the opportunity to be players and do that,” Leckie said.
“We’re doing it for the country, for ourselves, for our friends, for our family and that’s motivation in itself.”
The last time the two sides met was in 2018 at the previous edition of the World Cup, with the game finishing as a 1-1 draw.
Australia goes into the match with three points, two ahead of Denmark, putting all the pressure on the Danes to go all out in search for the win.
Should the Green and Gold advance to the round of 16, it will be a massive achievement as well as one of the major shocks of the tournament.
The match will be broadcast live on SBS at 2 a.m. on Thursday, playing at the same time as the France-Tunisia game.
