England and Denmark are locked on three points at the summit of Group D as they prepare to do battle in the Women’s World Cup on Friday.
The Lionesses claimed a 1-0 victory over Haiti in their opening match, while the Danes defeated China by the same scoreline.
Shooting drills ⚽️💥🧤 pic.twitter.com/IgnKoQQczm— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 26, 2023
Shooting drills ⚽️💥🧤 pic.twitter.com/IgnKoQQczm
The winner of Friday’s showdown will book their place in the last 16, although a draw could see both sides reach the knockout phase in due course.
England were expected to score multiple goals against Haiti last weekend, but the reigning European champions were made to work for the win.
Despite racking up 21 shots while enjoying 75% possession, England struggled to make the most of their dominance, with Georgia Stanway scoring the only goal of the game.
Still, the Lionesses will be pleased to have returned to winning ways after enduring a three-game winless run of two draws and one loss before the World Cup.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, England have suffered a solitary defeat in 33 matches since Sarina Wiegman took charge in September 2021.
Like England, Denmark dominated large spells of their opening game, racking up 56% possession and 13 shots against China.
However, the Danes were made to wait until the 89th minute to open the scoring, with Amalie Vansgaard breaking the deadlock late on.
Thanks to that victory, Denmark have now won five of their last six matches across all competitions, including friendlies.
That said, the Danes have struggled for consistency in recent times, with eight wins and seven draws coming in their previous outings across all competitions.
Head-to-head: England and Denmark have faced each other five times over the years, with the most recent meeting coming in 2019.
The Lionesses claimed a 2-1 victory over the Danes in 2019, meaning they have won four of the five previous meetings between the teams, scoring over 1.5 goals on three occasions.
Team news: England are expected to deploy a 4-3-3 formation, with Alessia Russo leading the line and Kiera Walsh anchoring the midfield.
Denmark will also likely continue with a 4-3-3 formation, with former Chelsea forward and 2018 Ballon d’Or runner-up Pernille Harder leading the line.
Despite having struggled to find their best form against Haiti, England are expected to bounce back with a convincing performance on Friday.
Forebet predicts that England will notch a high-scoring victory over Denmark, scoring over 5.5 goals while keeping a clean sheet.