Three Talking Points | Australia 1-0 Denmark | OneFootball

Australia qualified for the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 2006, thanks to a solid 1-0 over struggling Denmark.

While the European side were poor, Australia kept another well-deserved cleansheet and a Mathew Leckie goal was all it took for them to go through.

Harry Souttar imperious again

Centre-back Harry Soutar has been in fine form for the Socceroos and today was another example of why he is such an important player for them. The 24-year-old Stoke City man was impressive against Tunisia as well, despite having only recently recovered from an ACL injury. He won six aerial duels and won one ground duel, making two interceptions and one tackle.

A collective Danish failure

Denmark had sparkled last year in the Euros and considering the talent at their disposal, many had made them their dark horses for the tournament. But arguably, they have underperformed the most in the competition and a lot of their players simply looked tired – from Christian Eriksen and Pierre Emile-Hojbjerg to Joakim Maehle.

While Denmark have Martin Braithwaite and Kasper Dolberg as striker options, there are no reliable options available in their squad. Their attack looked quite blunt, as the lack of runs around the box made Christian Eriksen’s usage look redundant and the likes of Maehle, Mikkel Damsgaard and Skov Olsen struggled to find the final ball as well.