2018 World Cup Team Profiles: Group C

In the third edition of our World Cup Team Profiles, Group C gets a breakdown. Will France dominate the group as they are expected to? Can Christian Eriksen lead the Danes out of the group? Can the underdog Peruvians and Australians make any noise? We go through it all here.

Want to hear more about these groups? Check out our Betting on the World Cup Podcast! You can listen to Stats Insider staff go in deep on each group. Here's their Group C & D Preview.

Average Group Outcome (According to Stats Insider Models):
France
Denmark
Peru
Australia

FRANCE

Average Finishing Place In Group: 1st
Odds to Qualify from Group (Percentage Chance): $1.20 (85.8%)
Odds to Win Group (Percentage Chance): $1.25 (61.0%)
Odds to Finish Bottom of Group (Percentage Chance): $30.00 (3.3%)
Odds to Win World Cup: $10.40 (9.61%)

France has all the tools necessary to win the World Cup this summer, make no mistake about that. Loaded with talent in every position, a swathe of players were unlucky to miss the tournament squad, with stars such as Anthony Martial, Dimitri Payet, Adrien Rabiot and more all missing out.

Whether Didier Deschamps can put it all together and guide his men to glory is a whole other question. Under his leadership, the side has been marred by inconsistency and failure to perform, but the talent is undoubted. Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante spearhead a world class midfield, with Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembélé, Olivier Giroud, Thomas Lemar and Nabil Fekir to choose from in an attack that is the envy of world football.

If Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti can anchor the defence ahead of Hugo Lloris in goal, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be a strong contender to win it all. Their speed on the counter and ability to transition from defence to attack will be crucial, but will it come all together at the right time or will we see the same inconsistency that plagued their qualification?

Keep your eye on: the midfield duo of Pogba and Kante. Kante is the all-action dynamo who has taken English football by storm since his arrival and is now known as one of the world’s best midfielders. Alongside him in Russia will be Pogba, whose reputation has become somewhat polarising since joining Manchester United. He can do it all but has been plagued by consistency issues of his own. Is this summer his chance to show the world how good he truly is?

AUSTRALIA

Average Finishing Place In Group: 4th
Odds to Qualify from Group (Percentage Chance): $5.70 (17.6%)
Odds to Win Group (Percentage Chance): $23.80 (4.20%)
Odds to Finish Bottom of Group (Percentage Chance): $1.90 (53.1%)
Odds to Win World Cup: $3000 (0.03%)

Australia stumbled into their fourth consecutive World Cup the same way an extremely drunk man stumbles home after a night out, getting through the door but only barely. Their qualification was at times farcical, and it was capped off by Ange Postecoglou’s resignation after their qualification when they defeated Honduras in a two-legged playoff.

To Postecoglou’s credit, he’s handed over a tactically astute group to Bert van Marwijk, with the side capable of setting up in both defensive and attacking setups with relative ease. The future under Graham Arnold beyond the World Cup is an exciting one, with Arnold returning to the National fold after an extremely successful stint in club football.

Burdened with the continued reliance on Tim Cahill, Australia will need the likes of Matthew Leckie to pick up some of the goal scoring slack if they are to get out of Group C whilst Matthew Ryan in goals will need to keep opposing attacks at bay.

Keep your eye on: Aaron Mooy is the undoubted star of this Australian side. A very clever and technically gifted player, the talismanic midfielder dominated the A-League before being snapped up by Manchester City. From there he moved to Huddersfield, leading them to the Premier League and playing a key role in their survival this season. His performances will determine Australia’s destiny this summer.

PERU

Average Finishing Place In Group: 3rd
Odds to Qualify from Group (Percentage Chance): $2.30 (44.4%)
Odds to Win Group (Percentage Chance): $5.45 (18.4%)
Odds to Finish Bottom of Group (Percentage Chance): $3.70 (27.1%)
Odds to Win World Cup: $125 (0.80%)

Peru may come into this summer underestimated, but finishing fifth in the South American qualifying section ahead of Chile, Ecuador and Paraguay is no mean feat. They swiftly handled New Zealand in their playoff, and will fancy their chances of qualifying from Group C. Nevertheless, they’ll relish their tag as an exciting underdog.

Ricardo Gareca has moulded an ageing core with an exciting new group of young stars, making them into a resilient group of players looking to make some noise in Russia. It’s been 36 years and Peruvians won’t want it to only last three group stage matches. They play a disciplined, possession based style of football.

Alberto Rodríguez anchors their defence, with Yoshimar Yotún running things in midfield ahead of him.

Keep your eye on: the attacking trio of Christian Cueva, Jefferson Farfan and Paolo Guerrero. Cueva will be key to unlocking defences, allowing the goal scoring panache of Farfan and Guerrero to thrive. The three will carry the attacking hopes of a nation that for too long has been starved of World Cup football.

DENMARK

Average Finishing Place In Group: 2nd
Odds to Qualify from Group (Percentage Chance): $1.90 (52.2%)
Odds to Win Group (Percentage Chance): $5.45 (18.4%)
Odds to Finish Bottom of Group (Percentage Chance): $3.70 (27.1%)
Odds to Win World Cup: $105 (0.95%)

Christian Eriksen will lead an underdog Danish side into this summer’s World Cup, and they will have dreams of progressing to the knockout stages in Russia. They will certainly fancy themselves against Peru and Australia, and Age Hareide’s men will be determined not to go home early like they did in 2014.

After finishing second in qualifying the Danish sent the Republic of Ireland packing in the playoffs, but there were some serious results that should put a scare in their opponents - they thrashed group winner Poland 4-0 and a 5-1 trouncing of the Irish in the playoffs. 

The Danes conceded just eight goals in ten qualifying group matches, and are built upon a strong defence which allows Eriksen to dictate the attack in front of them. Andreas Bjelland, Captain Simon Kjær and Andreas Christensen are the base upon which their defence is built and will make life tough for opposing attacks.

Keep your eye on: Eriksen. Denmark’s best player by some distance, Eriksen has his chance to show world football just how underrated he is. Perhaps the most under-appreciated player in the Premier League, Eriksen is one of the world’s top playmakers. He’s also increasingly developed a strong knack for finding the net, bagging 11 goals in 12 qualifiers. If he lights it up this summer, who knows what could happen for the Danish.

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