World Cup Last-16: Australia vs Denmark – Match preview, live stream, kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
Tournament co-hosts Australia are looking to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Women’s World Cup when they face Denmark on Monday.
Denmark finished second in Group D whilst Australia topped Group B.
Australia – who will have home advantage – are the favourites to win.
Match preview
Australia preview
Australia’s world cup kicked off win a narrow 1-0 win before a shock 3-2 loss to Nigeria. However, a great performance in their final group stage match saw them beat Olympic Champions Canada – to send them home early.
Australia finished as group winners setting up a tie with Denmark, and they will be hoping to draw inspiration from their previous meeting with the Danes in October 2022 when the Matildas came from behind to claim a 3-1 win in the friendly encounter.
They are set to have their star player Sam Kerr back in the starting lineup. Kerr was benched due to a calf injury for the group stage games.
Denmark preview
Denmark saw a narrow win over China before being stopped in their tracks by England on Matchday Two.
They were able to pick themselves up to beat Haiti 2-0 in their final group-stage game.
Pernille Harder opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before Sanne Troelsgaard came off the bench to add a second goal deep into stoppage time, sealing all three points and securing Denmark’s spot in the last 16.
Denmark, who are appearing in their first Women’s World Cup since 2007, now have the chance to record their first-ever win in the knockout stages of the tournament.
While they may have lost their most recent meeting with Australia, they managed to beat the Matildas 3-2 when the two nations met in a friendly in June 2021.
Team News
After cruising to a comfortable win over Canada in their final group game, Australia boss Tony Gustavsson may be tempted to select an unchanged side.
Fowler marked her return to the starting lineup with a goal, and the Manchester City forward will be hoping to find the net again when she starts up front against Denmark.
Sam Kerr has missed the group stage with a calf problem, but Australia’s star striker could be fit to play a role off the bench in Monday’s contest.
As for Denmark, Stine Pedersen could be brought back into the starting XI after dropping down to the bench for the win over Haiti.
Josefine Hasbo may also return to the side for the last-16 tie, and she is likely to feature in a midfield three alongside Karen Holmgaard and Kathrine Kuhl.
After opening her account for the tournament on Tuesday, Harder will be looking to add to her tally when she leads the line against Australia.
Australia Women possible starting lineup:
Arnold; Carpenter, Hunt, Kennedy, Catley; Raso, Gorry, Cooney-Cross, Foord; Van Egmond, Fowler
Denmark Women possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Sevecke, Pedersen, Boye, Veje; Hasbo, Holmgaard, Kuhl; Thomsen, Madsen, Harder
WTX Sports predicts Australia 2-0
With a home crowd and star player Sam Kerr back in action, we’d expect to see Australia win.
