World Cup warm up: The permutations ahead of Group C’s conclusion on Tuesday

Russia, Uruguay, Spain and Portugal have secured their places in the round of 16 at the 2018 World Cup and now Group C will follow suit when France, Denmark, Australia and Peru play their final matches on Tuesday afternoon.

France are in the driving seat to finish first in Group C and only need a point against Denmark to confirm top spot. Les Bleus are expected to rotate heavily against the Danes; despite the fact they could still finish second and potentially face Croatia in the next round.

Team news and odds in our match preview

Didier Deschamps’ side are yet to hit their stride in Russia but are still expected to get the necessary result to confirm first place. A point would also be good enough for Denmark to progress, while they could even qualify with a defeat if Australia lose to Peru in the group’s other game.

Peru have been a breath of fresh air at the 2018 World Cup but are already eliminated having lost their opening two matches. They performances have been better than the results suggest and it would not be a surprise if they upstaged Australia in Sochi.

Australia have only progressed past the group stage on one occasion in their previous four attempts but have a chance to change that going into the last group game. Australia can move into second if the Socceroos win and Denmark lose by the same one-goal margin. In this instance Bert van Marwijk’s side would advance at Denmark’s expense on goals scored.

Team news and odds in our match preview

However, if Australia win and Denmark lose by a one-goal margin and both teams score the same amount of goals then they will finish with identical records and, as they drew their clash, second place would be awarded to the team that has the best Fair Play record. As it stands, Denmark have received four yellow cards and Australia have picked up three.

Denmark can still advance even if they lose and Australia win, but it would require Denmark outscoring the Socceroos to finish second on goals scored.

It promises to be another dramatic afternoon in the 2018 World Cup, although it would take some doing to match the theatrics of Group B’s conclusion on Monday night.

Writer Predictions:

Martin Laurence – Denmark 0-2 France & Australia 0-1 Peru

Ben McAleer – Denmark 1-1 France & Australia 2-1 Peru

Josh Wright – Denmark 1-1 France & Australia 1-0 Peru