The most frustrating thing about beating Tunisia is that it's given me hope. 

Denmark is either going to give us a solid beating or we'll lose due to some dodgy ref decision/ mistake at the back.

Either way, I fully expect to be let down. 

Hooray for positivity :)

you are probably right. 

But for the 1st time in as long as i can remember GA and the Socceroos/Olyroos  are going into a 3rd round tournament match with the 'advantage' - it will suit GA knowing he can set up to sit back and hit on the break

ill put my neck out on the line and call it now if Denmark take the lead 1st we will 100% lose this game but if we managing to score 1st there is no way we are letting them leave the pitch with anymore then 1point. 

but in all honesty id be happy with a nil-nil and would love Saude to top their group and we face them in the rd of 16 giving us a good chance at rd of qtr finals and guaranteeing one AFC team in the 1/4 finals - which imo is a respectable result for the Asian confederation   

I think France will rest players but also I don't think the tanking of the 3rd game is as prevalent as it seemed growing up.

Teams know now that winning is a habit and nobody wants to lose the game before the knockouts.

I'd love to see a stat where that has worked in anyone's favour.

So would I.
We saw the subs just aren't ready for this intensity.
Not Mabil or Hrustic anyway.

I actually think Maclaren did OK so happy for Duke to be a mad dog for 65 minutes.

McGree might not be as technically good as Hrustic but watching the replay I actually think he played a very important role in the first half especially.

Maybe we will need subs earlier if bodies are tired but I would start the exact same team.

Atkinson to come on for Leckie at RW isn't a bad shout as you figure he will provide more cober than someone "more exciting" as well.

Calling it now. Garang Kuol to provide the x factor in the second half as the Socceroos beat the Danes. He had his 15 minutes in the France game to get over the nerves on the big stage against a tournament favourite. He will come on and create havoc. 

True, but I reckon socceroos are going to have to score at least one to get the point.
Tunisia was our first clean sheet since 1974 - not the best record.
I would say our chances of a 2nd consecutive clean sheet are virtually nil.
Expect some nail biting moments a la Croatia in 2006.
This time round, are we going to be able to score a late equaliser?

honestly i have never wanted a boring af 0-0 draw to happen in my life 

thanks 

Yes, in both our games, our xG has been below 1, but we have scored both games, so we have actually done better than average.
Tunisia actually had an xG over 1.

Is t it the opposite? If you have an xg of 2.5 but only scored 1, your finishing is poor.

Basically an estimate of how often a goal would be scored from a situation. If your xg is ahead of your actual goals your finishing is good. We are usually way behind our xg apart from lucky penalties

this world cup so far that trend has reversed for some reason

xg vs actual goals is one measure of the quality of a league, with the epl looking good by this metric

Sorry about the ignorance, but what is xG?

Fotmob has them

turn your mobile off during the game because it finds out there is a goal and alerts you about sixty seconds before live tv shows it

Where do you find the xG stats?

The players will need the 5 days off after that tough and draining game .Having watched the France v Denmark game which was a close affair it will be difficult to get a favourable result against the Danes.They have a well organised defence and  a very good midfield.Their strikers are adequate but  our defenders should cope with them if they play like they did against Tunisia.

If Atkinson is still injured I would persist with Karacic.He was very tentative early on against Tunisia but improved as the game went on.Mooy  and Irvine should be picked but if fatigue sets in Devlin or Baccus should be subbed on early rather than later.Goodwin and Leckie again should start and Duke lead the line.If we need to score and surprise the Danes Kuol needs to be on for at least 30 minutes and Maclaren who is quicker than Cummings also for the same time.

McGree deserves to start and if Hrustic does go on he needs to be more aggressive and involved.

After Mabil's (absolute lack of) effort last night I wouldn't be putting him on the pitch again anytime soon. I'd rather play Tilio there than Mabil at this stage.

Tough luck with Devlin, he suited the France game, the other two less so, especially since Irvine has been one of our better midfield pressers, late game he tired and I thought it was a good opportunity for Devlin, but it wasn't to be.

Denmark is very good defensively, I think our forward press will be more important than ever and hopefully create a chance or win the second ball, they aren't physically imposing at all.
It's all about recovery now, as I don't think the team sheet will change, I would love to see the three City boys on at the same time and see if a bit of continuity would help, it nearly got Leckie a goal.
Nearly everything v France worked against us, yet everything v Tunisia turned out to be spot on. It's all on Arnie to come up with the game plan and that's what I am sweating on.

Based on both xGs from both teams, the game will be close.

The Danes don't create alot of chances whilst we press quite well and defend with good intensity. 

We need a draw I think we can do it, we just need to avoid defending too deep which has caused us problems. 

I'm thinking maybe Bacchus for McGree and then when can bring on McGree if we go down by a goal.
Provides some fresh legs in the engine room.

Agree with the others, it's concerning how lethagic Mabil & Hrusnic were when they came on. They don't deserve a start based on that alone.

We should aim to be around this level in world football. But this is going to be very tough. Like the Tunisia game any result is possible. 

One thing we learned is that Maclaren, Mabil and Hrustic are not the players we want on the field if we are trying to hold on for the last 20 minutes. We need Irvine, Duke and Leckie on the field when the going gets tough. They’ve proven that they’ll dig deep when it’s needed. 

Our pressing got mich less energetic in the last thirty minutes.

Worried about the gas irvine, duke, leckie, goodwin and behich have. Hard to replace behich so perhaps a midfield of either mooy/hrustic and mcgree or mooy hrustic and baccus (who seems ahead of devlin) 

up front i might risk starting goodwin again and play mabil and maclaren

This is a long shot, given how abysmal Tunisia looked, but worth keeping an eye on.  You often see teams who have qualified after the 2nd game rest key players, especially so if you are seriously in the hunt to win the whole thing,  so Tunisia might be in with a chance to jag a 1-0 win.

Socceroos probably need to score at least one goal to earn a point.

A draw is needed for us but they need a win. If we play for a draw I can't see how we can keep them out for 90 minutes, nor can I see us scoring if they score first.  We need to be on the front foot from the beginning.

I've seen little from any of the subs in both games-other than Maclarens' cross- to suggest any of them deserve to start.

If Duke is fit then he starts over Cummings who was anonymous against France.

Karacic was marginally better than Atkinson but he wasn't playing against MBappe like Atkinson was so not a fair comparison.  I think Atkinson offers more going forward and I think we'll need that so I'd actually play Atkinson at RB. or if not then as a sub RW (over Mabil) on at 60 minutes for Leckie.

Hrustic doesn't look match fit or is too slow so I'd still play McGree.

Mooy has put in a lot of of running and hopefully he's not fatigued because there is no-one in the squad who can hold the ball under pressure which there will be a lot of.

In the youth squad. Cam got his senior debut under Corica

Devlin does not appear to be in the Arnold frame of mind.
Keanu Baccus has come on as a sub in both games. 
Interesting, seeing as Devlin was at the Smurfs when Arnold was their head coach.

A draw will suffice provided Tunisia don't beat France. France will rotate a lot but I expect they'll have enough to avoid defeat.

Draw will do it