Matthew Leckie struck a 60th minute counter-attack winner as Australia defeated Denmark 1-0 to qualify for the Round of 16 at 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Following a scrappy opening 59 minutes, Leckie broke forward on a counter-attack to fire in a crucial 60th minute winner to send Australia through as Group D runners-up.
France meanwhile topped Group D despite suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Tunisia courtesy of Wahbi Khazri’s 59th minute goal which meant Tunisia finished third ahead of Denmark, whilst France’s Antoine Griezmann saw a late equaliser ruled offside in injury-time.
Australia will now face the winner of Group C, whilst France will meet Group C’s runner-up in the Round of 16.
Aware that at least a draw would be enough to see them advance if Tunisia fail to beat France elsewhere, Australia made the better shot as Riley McGree forced an early block in the third minute with a powerful shot.
Denmark though were able to settle quickly after their early scare as Jesper Lindstørm saw his 11th minute shot saved by Matthew Ryan, before Andreas Skov Olsen rifled over the bar just three minutes later as the Danes began to press for a crucial opening goal.
Up at the other end, McGree wasted a huge opportunity in the 22nd minute as he latched onto a bouncing ball, which enabled him to attempt a volley shot which landed in Kasper Schmeichel’s arms.
Skov Olsen then played an one-two passing overlap move into box with Mathias Jensen but his shot was comfortably saved by Ryan.
Australia though were able to dig deep throughout the first half to keep parity into the half-time break as Mitchell Duke wasted a 42nd minute shot, with neither team producing much end product in a scrappy opening half with both Group D matches goalless at the break.
After the break, Australia quickly won a corner from which Aziz Behich fired wide on rebound, as he intercepted Joachim Andersen’s clearance.
Skov Olsen then met Jensen’s low cross in the 52nd minute but his on-turn shot was blocked and cleared as Denmark began to chase a winner.
Tunisia meanwhile sprung a surprise elsewhere as they took a 59th minute lead through Khazri which put them on course to qualify as Group D runners-up.
That renewed hope for the CAF team however was short-lived as Riley McGree found Leckie on a counter-attack just one minute later, from which Leckie calmly raced forward and bent his shot beyond Schmeichel into the bottom-right corner.
That goal consequently put qualification back into Australia’s hands and meant Tunisia plus Euro 2020 semi-finalists, Denmark faced elimination.
Denmark though saw a penalty shout in the 71st minute denied as Dolberg got hauled to ground inside the box, with referee – Mustapha Ghorbal having ruled it a penalty only for the fourth official to intervene and declare Dolberg offside.
Australia meanwhile made a tactical switch to go defensive to protect their slender lead in the closing stages, which frustrated Denmark who struggled to create many decent chances in their hunt of two late goals with substitute – Alexander Bah wasting a 87th minute opportunity to equalise.
In the end, Graham Arnold’s Socceroos clung on to reach the Round of 16 for just the second time in their history, having previously done so at 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Teams
Australia: Matthew Ryan, Milos Degenek, Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, Aziz Behich, Matthew Leckie (Hrustic 89′), Jackson Irvine, Aaron Mooy, Craig Goodwin (Baccus 45′), Mitchell Duke (Maclaren 83′), Riley McGree (Wright 74′)
Substitutes: Nathaniel Atkinson, Fran Karacic, Marco Tilio, Bailey Wright, Jamie Maclaren, Ajdin Hrustic, Awer Mabil, Andrew Redmayne, Cameron Devlin, Danny Vukovic, Thomas Deng, Garang Kuol, Joel King, Jason Cummings, Keanu Baccus
Denmark: Kasper Schmeichel, Rasmus Kristensen (Bah 45′), Joachim Andersen, Andreas Christensen, Joakim Maehle (Cornelius 70′), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Mathias Jensen (Damsgaard 59′), Andreas Skov Olsen (Skov 69′), Christian Eriksen, Jesper Lindstørm, Martin Braithwaite (Dolberg 59′)
Substitutes: Victor Nelsson, Simon Kjaer, Kasper Dolberg, Mikkel Damsgaard, Christian Nørgaard, Oliver Christensen, Jens Stryger Larsen, Daniel Wass, Jonas Wind, Yussuf Poulsen, Andreas Cornelius, Frederik Rønnow, Robert Skov, Alexander Bah
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)
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