With the group stages of the 2023 Women’s World Cup complete, we enter the round of 16. On the 7th of August we have a meeting between the hosts, Australia W and Denmark W at Stadium Australia.
There is going to be a fantastic atmosphere inside the stadium as the home fans cheer on their team against a decent Danish outfit.
Friday work 💪#Matildas #FIFAWWC #TilitsDone pic.twitter.com/nSp0v00b0r— CommBank Matildas (@TheMatildas) August 4, 2023
Friday work 💪#Matildas #FIFAWWC #TilitsDone pic.twitter.com/nSp0v00b0r
Australia W come into the game on the back of a good 4-0 win over Canada W.
The final group match could have been tough for the hosts against the 2020 Olympic Games gold medallists but Australia W settled the nerves with the opening goal in the 9th minute.
Australia W extended their lead in the 39th minute and added a third goal 13 minutes into the second half. Australia W completed the scoring in the added time and topped Group B.
Australia W started the 2023 Women’s World Cup with a narrow 1-0 win over Republic of Ireland W but were upset by Nigeria W in their second fixture of the tournament.
Nigeria W came out on top, winning 3-2 in what was a shock result for the home fans.
Trends show Australia W have won 11 of their last 13 games, including friendly matches.
They have won only 4 of their last 8 Women’s World Cup fixtures and were eliminated at this stage of the competition in 2019.
Denmark W come into the is match having beat Haiti W 2-0 in their final game of Group D.
The Danes opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 21st minute but struggled to breakdown the determined defence of Haiti W from open play.
Denmark W did manage to score a second goal late in added time at the end of the game.
Denmark W finished second in Group D having beat China PR W 1-0 in their opening fixture of the 2023 Women’s World Cup but lost by the same score to England W in their second match of the group.
Trends show Denmark W have won 6 of their 8 most recent games, including friendlies.
This is the first time Denmark W have qualified for the Women’s World Cup since 2007 and they were eliminated at the group stage of the competition.
Looking ahead to the team news and Australia W will be hoping Sam Kerr can play her first game of the tournament.
If the striker is unavailable, Mary Fowler and Emily van Egmond will continue in attack for the hosts.
Denmark W will likely go with the same starting XI from the win over Haiti W. That means Amalie Vangsgaard will start as the central striker, with support from Pernille Harder.
This is going to be a tough task for Australia W and even with home support, they could find the Danes difficult to breakdown. Denmark W have the quality in attack, especially with Harder, to convert what could be limited chances.
We expect Denmark W to progress to the quarter final, with under 2.5 goals scored in total.