Group C is bannered by football superpower France, who are expected to breeze through the competition. The World Cup can always be a crazy terrain for favorites to navigate though so no one should be sleeping on the chances of Denmark, Peru, and Australia to pull off an upset or two.
Make no mistake about it. Les Bleus are loaded with immense talent. On paper, Didier Deschamps and his men could certainly go deep in the World Cup and wreak havoc along the way. With odds of +600 to take home the World Cup title for the first time in 20 years, France will roll out a devastating group of attackers in the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, and Ousmane Dembel with a midfield that boasts of a Paul Pogba, who can do it all, Les Bleus don’t have plenty of excuse not to finish on top of their group unscathed, untouched, unblemished, and unharmed.
Denmark have a price of +450, meaning that in the eyes of experts and sportsbooks, they have the best shot of foiling France’s plans of notching the No.1 spit in Group C. The Danish are thirsty for success in such a grand tournament having not participated in two of the last three World Cups. (They last played in 2010.) If Denmark are going to make some noise and ruffle some feathers in the tournament, it will be because of Christian Eriksen, a talented midfielder for Tottenham, who can be depended in creating plays for his teammates and taking the scoring responsibilities upon himself. Denmark have a decent defense that allowed eight goals in 10 games during the qualifiers before conceding one more in the playoffs. With a passable back line and an all-world talent like Eriksen up front, who knows how much damage Denmark can really make?
The last time Peru made an appearance at the World Cup, Facebook was not yet around. The founder of Facebook was not even born yet to be more precise. That was in 1982. Thirty-six years later, Los Incase are back, poised to give their motherland some pride. With that long absence from the tournament, expect Peru to fight tooth and nail every match. The squad also got some tremendous news when the ban on striker Paolo Guerrero for doping was lifted, allowing him to represent his country at the World Cup. Guerrero should get help from Andre Carrillo, a creative playmaker, and striker Jefferson Farfan of Lokomotiv Moscow. Peru have odds of +1,000 to win the group.
Australia have the longest odds to top the group with a price of +1,400. One thing about the Socceroos, however, is that they have been getting consistent in getting to the World Cup. They are set to play in their fourth straight World Cup. In 2014, they recorded a 0-3 slate and bombed out in the group stages. The Australians are the big underdogs in the group, and for them to score an upset or a draw against their group rivals, they will need their midfielders of Mooy, Tom Rogic and Massimo Luongo to navigate through opposing defenses and set up plays for its strikers, led by an aging Tim Cahill, Cahill, 37, scored 11 goals in the qualifiers.
Key Game – Peru vs Denmark
With France being shoo-ins to move into the next round, it’s going to be this match between Peru and Denmark which might just decide who will accompany Les Bleus into the Round of 16.
Writer’s Prediction
France finishes No. 1, followed by Denmark, Peru, Australia.
