Monday, May 7, 2018

FIFA World Cup 2018: Group C Preview and Match Schedule


Group C is formed by France, Australia, Peru and Denmark. This is a very interesting group to look at. Matches that will take place from 16 to 26 June are likely to be full of excitement. Apart from France, other three teams have equal strength. So, it will be hard to predict who among the three- Australia, Peru and Denmark- will qualify from this group as runners-up. 

France:
The seventh seeded team France has caught all attentions of the world for having one of best squads in international football. Didier Deschamps led the Les Bleus (nickname of the French national football team) has a number of young but talented players- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Kylian Mbappe (Monaco), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona), Paul Pogba (Manchester United) and N’golo Kante (Chelsea)- who are performing well at club level. The squad is so balanced that it will be hard for opponents to find weaknesses in it. They will probably not have much trouble to progress to the round of 16 as Group C winners.

France is considered one of the few teams who have the highest possibility to win this year’s World Cup trophy. But some may raise questions about their ability indicating their disappointing loss to Portugal on home soil in the Final of Euro 2016. They won their first and only World Cup trophy twenty years ago in 1998 under the leadership of Deschamps, France’s current manager. So, everyone is expecting to see Deschamps once again inspiring France to another World Cup title, replicating his 1998 success.

Australia:
The Socceroos (official nickname of the Australian national football team) will make their fifth appearance in the World Cup since 1974. The Aussies were never regarded a strong contender at this tournament. Their best performance at the World Cup was in 2006, when they reached the second round where they eventually lost to Italy thanks to Francesco Totti who converted a penalty kick in injury time. However, in the last two editions, they performed poorly as they finished last in the group stage. This time, they will try their best to qualify from the group but will face tough challenges from Peru and Denmark.

Australia’s key player is Tim Cahill. The forward, who is currently playing for South East London football club Millwall, scored 11 goals in the qualifying rounds and played a pivotal role in Australia’s qualification into the World Cup 2018 in Russia. Apart from Cahill, there are other players like Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town) and goalkeeper Matthew Ryan (Brighton & Hove Albion) who are currently playing in the Premier League.

Peru:
Peru, the 11th seeded team, will also make their fifth World Cup appearance since 1930. This is, however, going to be their first appearance in 36 years as they last appeared in a World Cup final back in 1982. However, making it to the World Cup was not so easy for them. They had to beat New Zealand 2-0 in a two-leg playoff and become the last nation to qualify for the tournament. Nicknamed La Blanquirroja (The White and Red) will make tough competition against Denmark and Australia.

Their best performance at the World Cup was in 1970, when they moved to the quarter finals. The Peruvian forward Jefferson Farfan played an instrumental role in leading Peru to attain the ticket to Russia World Cup. He will be coach Ricardo Gareca’s key weapon in Russia.

Denmark:
Like Australia and Peru, Denmark is also going to make their fifth appearance at the World Cup. Beating the Republic of Ireland 5-1 in the playoffs, Denmark earned their place at the 2018 Russia World Cup. Christian Eriksen played the key role as the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder scored hat-trick while Christie and Bendtner scored one goal apiece. In 10 qualifying matches, Eriksen scored 8 goals.

They could never advance beyond the quarter finals at the World Cup, and in their last appearance in 2010 World Cup, Denmark failed to progress from their group despite beating Cameroon. This year, their first challenge would be to clinch one of the top two places of Group C.

Date
Teams
Time
Venue
16 June 2018
France vs Australia
13:00 MSK
Kazan Arena, Kazan
16 June 2018
Peru vs Denmark
19:00 MSK
Mordovia Arena, Saransk
21 June 2018
Denmark vs Australia
16:00 SAMT
Cosmos Arena, Samara
21 June 2018
France vs Peru
20:00 YEKT
Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg
26 June 2018
Denmark vs France
17:00 MSK
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
26 June 2018
Australia vs Peru
17:00 MSK
Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
As it is a football game, match result cannot be predicted until the match ends. Even a weaker team can make upset. This year’s World Cup supposed to be more exciting. So, try to watch all matches live.

Links-
#France #Australia #Peru #Denmark #FIFA_World_Cup_2018 
#2018_FIFA_World_Cup_Group_C

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