Full match report:
AL WAKRAH, Qatar: Australia advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup, beating favored Denmark 1-0 Wednesday on Mathew Leckie’s 60th-minute goal. It is Australia’s first time in the knockout stage since 2006, the only other time they advanced out of the group stage.
Leckie took a pass near the center circle and moved around a Danish defender before hitting a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel diving to his left. Australia finished with six points in Group D. Defending champion France won the group on goal difference despite losing to Tunisia 1-0 in the other group match.
The World Cup proved to be a major disappointment for Denmark after reaching the semifinals in the 2020 European Championship. They slogged through a 0-0 draw in their opening match with Tunisia and then recovered in a 2-1 loss against France. Denmark dominated possession through much of the game but could not generate enough chances.
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Group D is in the books ✅#AUS join holders #FRA in the last 16!#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 30, 2022 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">Group D is in the books ✅#AUS join holders #FRA in the last 16!#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 30, 2022Group D is in the books ✅#AUS join holders #FRA in the last 16!#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 30, 2022
Read: FIFA World Cup: All you need to know so far
Denmark’s Mathias Jensen had one of his team’s best chances of the game in the 10th minute, but Australia goalkeeper Matthew Ryan came up with a point-blank save. Referee Mustapha Ghorbal handed a yellow card early to defender Aziz Behich as Australia defended tenaciously from the start and counterattacked when possible.
Australia started the second half on the front foot as Jackson Irvine fired a good chance over the crossbar. But the Socceroos quickly reverted to defending before breaking through with Leckie’s goal. On two late corners Schmeichel sprinted upfield to put himself into the mix in front of the goal as Denmark searched for a goal. Aussie keeper Ryan caught one corner and Schmeichel scurried back. He came all the way back on a second corner with about a minute remaining, but that attempt also amounted to nothing. (AP)
Full Time: Australia beat Denmark 1-0, with the sole goal scored by Mathew Leckie for the winning team.
Goal!
Leckie takes Aussies forward against a higher-ranked Denmark. What a blow to Denmark! The stuff of brilliance by the Australian.
Score: 1-0
Second half is underway
-- Half time. Score: 0-0
-- Denmark have had majority of possession, over 60 percent against the Australians, but the latter came back well. Denmark also had at least 3 attempted goals on target. Scoreline reads 0-0 so far.
- Australia XI: Matthew Ryan, Miloš Degenek, Harry Souttar, Kye Rowles, Aziz Behich, Aaron Mooy, Jackson Irvine, Riley McGree, Craig Goodwin, Mathew Leckie, Mitchell Duke.
- Denmark XI: Kasper Schmeichel, Joachim Andersen, Andreas Christensen, Rasmus Kristensen, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Mathias Jensen, Christian Eriksen, Joakim Maehle, Jesper Lindstrøm, Martin Braithwaite, Andreas Skov Olsen.
Here's some background to the story, including trivia, rankings and head-to-head.
AUSTRALIA VS DENMARK (Group D)
Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
FIFA Rankings: Australia -- 38, Denmark -- 10
Head-To-Head: Australia have one game against Denmark while Denmark have 2 wins against the Kangaroos while one remained draw. In 2018, Denmark drew against Australia 1-1 while they beat them 2-0 in 2012.
Last match in the ongoing WC: Australia lost to defending champs France 1-4 before winning the game against Tunisia 1-0. Denmark held Tunisia to 0-0 while they too lost against France 1-2.
Team's World Cup record: Overall, 3 wins for Australia, 4 draws and 11 losses -- not a record to boast while Denmark have had 9 wins, 6 draws and 7 losses.
