This is France’s group to lose. Although the other teams in this group aren’t pushovers, France has far more talent than any other team in this group. The French are absolutely loaded at every position on the pitch, while each of the three other teams have some major concerns that threaten to keep them out of the knockout stage.
Accordingly, the French are heavy favorites to win Group C, but they have been in this situation recently. In 2002 and 2010, France was seen as one of the top contenders for the World Cup, but it couldn’t win a match and finished in last place in its group.
Russia FIFA World Cup: Once every four years, the world's most popular game has its biggest tournament. The World Cup is as big as it gets all over the world, especially for the 32 countries who have earned the right to partake in this tournament. We think of the World Cup as a four-week tournament in June and July every few years, but this is actually a tournament where every FIFA team in the world has a chance to make it to the big stage.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia will begin on Thursday, June 14 and run through the final on Sunday, July 15. All of the action can be seen on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2.
FIFA 2018 World Cup Group C Betting Odds
France -300
Denmark +480
Peru +1045
Australia +1855
France
It’s hard not to really like this French team. After some initial hiccups at the 2016 European Championships, they cruised through the knockout stages and put on a clinical defensive performance in a 2-0 win against defending World Cup champions Germany in the semifinals. They ended up falling to Portugal in the final, but showed that they are one of the most dangerous teams in the world.
France can attack with the best teams in the world. Paul Pogba is one of the world’s best at maintaining possession and leading the charge, while Antoine Griezmann is a clinical finisher who was named the best player at Euro 2016. They will also be adding the ultra-talented Kylian Mbappe into the mix, making this one of the most explosive teams at the World Cup.
The defensemen are young and inexperienced, but very talented. Samuel Umtiti was one of the team’s breakout stars during Euro 2016, and Raphael Varane is the glue that holds this defense together.
Denmark
Few teams were better defensively than Denmark was during qualifying. The Danes allowed just eight goals in their 10 Group Stage games in qualifying, and then gave up a lone goal to Ireland in the playoff.
Kaspar Schmeichel will be the starting goalkeeper and has performed beautifully for both club and country over the last few seasons. There are quality defensemen like team captain Simon Kjaer, Andreas Bjelland, and Jannik Vestergaard in front of him too.
However, the team lasts a real scoring threat outside of Christian Eriksen. Eriksen was superb in qualifying, with 11 goals over 12 games, but there really isn’t another player that has shown an ability to beat the keeper. Nicklas Bendtner and Nicolai Jorgensen will likely be the two options up top, and one of them needs to step up.
Peru
It’s been 36 years since Peru was last at the World Cup, and you can be sure the entire nation is enjoying this feeling. Peru finished in fifth place in South American qualifying and had to beat New Zealand in the inter-confederation playoff in order to make it to this point.
There might not be an older forward combination than what Peru will bring to the World Cup. Jefferson Farfan and Paolo Guerrero are both in their mid-30s, but they are the top options on this team. Each player is still going strong in spite of their age and will look to put Peru through to the knockout rounds.
Australia
The Socceroos are making their fourth consecutive World Cup appearance, but there are a number of questions surrounding this team after a mediocre performance in qualifying. Australia had the worst defense of any of the top Asian teams, and it did not look like it had improved from the team that allowed nine goals in three games at the last 2014 World Cup.
Additionally, the nation can no longer rely on Tim Cahill. Cahill will go down as the best player in Aussie history, but he is 38 and limited in what he can do. Aaron Mooy and Mile Jedinak will need to come up big for Australia to get out of this group.
