Jedinak, Ericksen score as Denmark are held to 1-1 draw by Australia. FT

Christian Eriksen with a powerful half-volley in the seventh minute gave Denmark the lead. Australia got a penalty in the 35th minute, which Jedinak rolled into the net.

Australia meet Denmark at the Samara Arena today in a Group C match, looking to register their first win of the FIFA World Cup 2018 tournament. 


Live updates:

Minute 83 -- Australia are probing inside the Denmark half, quicklymoving the ball forward.

That's it.!! Full time!!

Full-time report: Maybe the Argentinians ought to borrow Mile Jedinak from Australia for tonight's match against Croatia. The Australian has scored from the spot 12 times in as many attempts for his national team. And it was his latest attempt, after a VAR-consulted penalty, that brought Australia level with Denmark who had taken a lead in the seventh minute through a superbly struck Christian Eriksen half-volley goal during the Group C match at the Samara Arena today that ended in a 1-1 draw.

Australia started in a defensive 4-4-1-1 while Denmark lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Nicolai Jorgenson leading the line. The game was hinging at a balance in the opening minutes. However, that balance was disturbed when Christian Eriksen struck a phenomenal half-volley in the seventh minute after superb ball control by Jorgensen who dinked the ball into Eriksen's path who let the ball bounce once before firing it beyond the Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan's reach.

Denmark settled nicely into the game after drawing first blood and controlled the ball from the midfield. The Australians showed urgency and tried to break but couldn't do anything concrete about it. However, the play sort of changed in the last 10-15 minutes when Australia looked better in the offence, more ordered. Their midfield, especially Rogic and Leckie offered a lot and that paid off in the 35th minute when Denmark's Poulsen left a stray hand dangling inside the penalty area. The refree consulted VAR after appeals of handball and pointed to the spot where Australia's penalty expert Jedinak rolled the ball to the bottom left corner while the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The Socceroos continued in the second half from where they left off, continously probing Denmark's final third. Arzani was brought to the game in the 70th minute and the substitute looked to make an impact within minutes of entering the field as he looked for the top corner from outside the box but narrowly missed. In the 87th minute, Schmeichel made a fine save after Arzani cut in from the left and took a shot to his right. The ball fell to Leckie who took an awkward shot but was well dealt with by the Denmark keeper.

Australia arguably had a better game, in which they had more possession and more attempts. Denmark go to the top of group C with 4 points followed by France with 3 points who will play Peru later in the day. Australia, who have one point and are in the third spot, survive, but just yet.

Minute 89 -- Arzani goes down after being harried by a couple of Australian defenders. He appeals for a foul but the refree doesn't agree with him. 

Minute 87 -- Schmeichel makes two wonderful back-to-back saves. Australia go on a break and Arzani cuts in from the left and shoots on his right. The shot is parried away by the Denmark goalkeeper. The ball falls back to Leckie who tries an awkward shot which lacks power and is comfortably dealt with by the goalkeeper.

Minute 80 -- Australia make a change. Irvine in for Rogic

Minute 70 --Jorgensen comes off for Cornelius up front as Hareide looks to bring a spark to his side's attack. 

Minute 72 -- Rogic with almost a similar effort but Schmeichel easily saves it.

Minute 71 -- The substitute Arzani looks to make an impact within minutes of entering the field as he looks for the top corner from outside the box but narrowly misses.

Minute59 -- Substitution Martin Braithwaite (in) of Denmark comes in for Yussuf Poulsen (out) 

Minute 50 -- Jorgensen flicks the ball to Sisto, who fires a shot at goal for the first-time, but it's deflected out! Inexplicably, the referee awards a goal-kick! Denmark are not happy.

Minute 48 -- Australia have continued with their attacking intent which they showed aplenty in the later phases of the first half.

Second half begins.

Half-time report: Maybe the Argentinians ought to borrow Mile Jedinak from Australia for tonight's match against Croatia. The Australian has scored from the spot 12 times in as many attempts for his national team. And it was his latest attempt, after a VAR-consulted penalty, that brought Australia level with Denmark who had taken a lead in the seventh minute through a superbly struck Christian Eriksen half-volley goal during the Group C match at the Samara Arena today.

Australia started in a defensive 4-4-1-1 while Denmark lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Nicolai Jorgenson leading the line. The game was hinging at a balance in the opening minutes. However, that balance was disturbed when Christian Eriksen struck a phenomenal half-volley in the seventh minute after superb ball control by Jorgensen who dinked the ball into Eriksen's path who let the ball bounce once before firing it beyond the Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan's reach.

Denmark settled nicely into the game after drawing first blood and controlled the ball from the midfield. The Australians showed urgency and tried to break but couldn't do anything concrete about it. However, the play sort of changed in the last 10-15 minutes when Australia looked better in the offece, more ordered. Their midfield, especially Rogic and Leckie offered a lot and that paid off in the 35th minute when Denmark's Poulsen left a stray hand dangling inside the penalty area. The refree consulted VAR after appeals of handball and pointed to the spot where Australia's penalty expert Jedinak rolled the ball to the bottom left corner while the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The game is finely balanced and is up for grabs for either team who have both dominated the certain phases. The later half should be a cracker.

Live updates:

Minute 35: VAR moment!! The referee has gone for the video technologuy review after suspecting a handball by Poulsen who left his hand dangling into the air while defending a corner. The referee points to the spot and shows Poulsen a yellow card. Jedinak takes the penalty and rolls the ball into the right-hand corner while Schmeichel dives to the wrong side. Game on!

Minute 30 -- Some good play from Australia who are linking well in the midfield, especially Rogic and Leckie. However, they haven't gotten any closer to carving out an opener for themselves.

Minute 24 -- Another chance for Denmark. The Dens attack down the right flank and the player puts out a cross. Jorgensen arrives at the end of the cross only to head the ball wide.

Minute 17 -- Denmark settling nicely into the game now after drawing the first blood and are controlling the ball from the midfield. Australia look to try and break but haven't been able to make a meal out of their efforts till now.

Minute 7 (GOAL!!) -- Jorgensen does well to get into the box and flick the ball in front of Christian Eriksen who smashes his half-volley into the net and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Mat Ryan.

Minute 4 -- Australia break and Rogic takes a shot from the right hand side of the box but can only earn his team a corner. The delievery comes to Leckie who heads it upand over the crossbar.

Also read: 
https://www.business-standard.com/2018-fifa-world-cup

Line-ups out:

Australia squad: (4-4-1-1)

Mat Ryan; Aziz Behich, Mark Milligan, Trent Sainsbury, Josh Risdon; Robbie Kruse, Mile Jedinak, Aaron Mooy, Mathew Leckie;Tom Rogic; Andrew Nabbout

 

Denmark squad: (4-2-3-1)

Kasper Schmeichel; Henrik Dalsgaard, Simon Kjaer, Andreas Christensen, Jens Stryger; Lasse Schone, Thomas Delaneu; Yussuf Poulsen, Christian Eriksen, Pione Sisto; Nicolai Jorgensen

Head-to-head: The two sides last met in 2012, with Denmark running out 2-0 winners courtesy a penalty goal from Daniel Agger and Andreas Bjelland who doubled the Danes' lead.

When and where to watch:

The match will be telecasted live in English on SONY TEN 2, in 

Hindi on SONY TEN 3 and in Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu on SONY ESPN.

Time: 5.30 PM IST

For live streaming, the match can be streamed at sonyliv.com

Trivia: 

-- Australia have kept just 1 clean sheet in their 14 previous World Cup finals matches, a 0-0 draw with Chile in 1974. (Source:OptaJoe)

-- Christian Eriksen has been involved in Denmark's last three international goals; scoring one and assisting the other two goals for Yussuf Poulsen.(Source: OptaJoe)

-- Christian Eriksen's assist was his 17th goal (12) or assist (5) in his last 14 international games for Denmark.(Source: OptaJoe)

-- It took Australia 22 matches to seal their entry into this year's World Cup. This is the most any nation has ever played in a World Cup qualifying campaign.

-- Denmark haven't lost a single match in any of the competition since October 2016.

- Christian Eriksen has been directly involved in 18 goals in his last 15 appearances for Denmark (13 goals, 5 assists).

-- Mile Jedinak's penalty ended a run of nine hours and 31 minutes without conceding at international level for Kasper Schmeichel (571 minutes).(Source:OptaJoe)

-- With three goals, Mile Jedinak is now Australia's second highest goalscorer in World Cup history after Tim Cahill (5). (Source:OptaJoe)

-- Mile Jedinak is the only player in World Cup history with 3+ goals, with all goals being penalty kicks (3). (Source:OptaJoe)

 

Match Preview: Australia meet Denmark at the Samara Arena today in a Group C match, looking to register their first win of the FIFA World Cup 2018 tournament. But they know things won't be easy against a formidable opponent like Denmark who already have three points from their one game after their win against Peru. Australia themselves were defensively impressive in their first game but fell eventually to a 1-2 loss against France that saw the luck lady smiling at Les Blues. If the Socceross want to qualify from the group stages, today's match is a must-win for them. 

Australia Captain Mile Jedinak knows this and has said this his team would focus on Denmark as a unit and not solely on dangerman Christian Eriksen. He says improving on a disciplined performance is also a key for Australia. However, they will need to improve in the final third.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eriksen, who scored 11 of Denmark's goals in qualifying, is the key threat for Age Hareide's side at the Samara Arena.

On the other hand, the Danes, who have the psychological and points advantage over Peru, can afford to be more flexible with their strategy. A win here would cement their place in the Round of 16 and Denmark wouldn't like to leave anything to chance. Their goalkeeper K

asper Schmeichel is in a rich vein of form, having kept clean-sheets in his last five matches.

Australia 23-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Brad Jones, Mitch Langerak, Mat Ryan, Danny Vukovic;

Defenders: Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek, Alex Gersbach, Matthew Jurman, Fran Karacic, James Meredith, Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury, Aleksandar Susnjar, Bailey Wright;

Midfielders: Josh Brillante, Jackson Irvine, Mile Jedinak, Robbie Kruse, Massimo Luongo, Mark Milligan, Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic, James Troisi;

Forwards: Daniel Arzani, Tim Cahill, Apostolos Giannou, Tomi Juric, Mathew Leckie, Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout, Dimitri Petratos, Nikita Rukavytsya.

Formation and tactics: Australia started in a sort of 4-2-3-1 formation, their game plan revolving around a stoic defending and counterattack.

Key players: Their centre-back pair of Mark Miligan and Trent Sainsbury, who were excellent against France.

Denmark 23-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester), Jonas Lossl (Huddersfield), Frederik Ronow (Brondby), Jesper Hansen (FC Midtjylland)

Defenders: Simon Kjaer (Sevilla), Andreas Christensen (Chelsea), Mathias Jorgensen (Huddersfield), Jannik Vestergaard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Andreas Bjelland (Brentford), Henrik Dalsgaard (Brentford), Peter Ankersen (FC Copenhagen), Jens Stryger (Udinese), Riza Durmisi (Real Betis), Jonas Knudsen (Ipswich), Nicolai Boilesen (FC Copenhagen)

Midfielders: William Kvist (FC Copenhagen), Thomas Delaney (Werder Bremen), Lukas Lerager (Bordeaux), Lasse Schone (Ajax), Mike Jensen (Rosenborg), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham), Daniel Wass (Celta Vigo), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton), Mathias Jensen (FC Nordsjaelland), Michael Krohn-Dehli (Deportivo La Coruna), Robert Skov (FC Copenhagen)

Forwards: Pione Sisto (Celta Vigo), Martin Braithwaite (Bordeaux), Andreas Cornelius (Atalanta), Viktor Fischer (FC Copenhagen), Yussuf Poulsen (RB Leipzig), Nicolai Jorgensen (Feyenoord), Nicklas Bendtner (Rosenborg), Kasper Dolberg (Ajax), Kenneth Zohore (Cardiff)

Formation and tactics: Denmark started in a sort of 4-5-1 formation against Peru that didn't serve them very well despite a 1-0 win against Peru. They were pressured contionously by their lower-ranked opponents who also missed a penalty that saw them survive the scare. Any tactical changes by Age Hareide to his side might revolve around that last match.

Key players: Christian Eriksen, who has 17 goals+assists in his last 14 international games.

Match Preview: Australia meet Denmark at the Samara Arena today in a Group C match, looking to register their first win of the FIFA World Cup 2018 tournament. But they know things won't be easy against a formidable opponent like Denmark who already have three points from their one game after their win against Peru. Australia themselves were defensively impressive in their first game but fell eventually to a 1-2 loss against France that saw the luck lady smiling at Les Blues. If the Socceross want to qualify from the group stages, today's match is a must-win for them. 

Australia Captain Mile Jedinak knows this and has said this his team would focus on Denmark as a unit and not solely on dangerman Christian Eriksen. He says improving on a disciplined performance is also a key for Australia. However, they will need to improve in the final third.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eriksen, who scored 11 of Denmark's goals in qualifying, is the key threat for Age Hareide's side at the Samara Arena.

On the other hand, the Danes, who have the psychological and points advantage over Peru, can afford to be more flexible with their strategy. A win here would cement their place in the Round of 16 and Denmark wouldn't like to leave anything to chance. Their goalkeeper K

asper Schmeichel is in a rich vein of form, having kept clean-sheets in his last five matches.