Match Previews

0-0 draw against France earned Denmark a last 16 spot. Hareide will have to make tough tactical decisions. Poulsen is back available after serving a ban. Kvist is close to match fitness.

Denmark and France seemed to have a mutual agreement on Tuesday in Moscow as both teams didn't push for a result at all. The 0-0 score on the board suited them both as it earned France the top spot in the group, while Denmark sealed the second position.

Denmark's statistics are shaping up to be quite impressive as Age Hareide's men managed to stay unbeaten in their last eighteen matches. Their last defeat was back in 2016 at home against Montenegro. The defence has been their key line as Denmark only conceded three goals in their last ten games.

Coach Age Hareide will have to make some tough decisions during his preparation for the clash with Croatia. The Norwegian switched back to a system with three defenders against France, which was quite surprising as he opted for a 4-2-3-1 in the first two games.

Meanwhile, Yussuf Poulsen will be motivated to regain his starting spot. The winger collected two yellow cards in the first two matches against Peru and Australia, which prevented him from facing France. He's now set to start as he will be relatively fit as well.

William Kvist returned to the Danish training camp already, which is nothing short of a miracle. The holding midfielder broke two ribs and punctured a lung during the confrontation with Peru, but he's already back and he even ended up on the bench against France. A start seems a bit unlikely at this point though.

The line-up will be the point of a discussion as several players will be hoping to claim the start. Mathias Jorgensen, Andreas Cornelius and Martin Braithwaite, who replaced the suspended Poulsen, all got awarded with their first start of the World Cup against France. Nicolai Jorgensen and Lasse Schöne dropped to the bench as a result.

Reaching the last 8 would be a fantastic achievement for this outfit as the Danish side only reached this stage of the tournament once back in 1998. Denmark will be the underdog for the match against Croatia, but their results against this opponent are quite decent (two wins, one draw, two defeats).