France made a perfect start to their bid to retain the World Cup, as they thrashed Australia 4-1 in their opening Group D fixture.
After falling behind early on, the world champions simply moved through the gears to blow Graham Arnold’s men away and send out a message to their tournament rivals.
Next up is a Denmark side who huffed and puffed but without any end result in drawing 0-0 with Tunisia in their opener, and who need to get points on the board.
Below are the predicted lineups for both teams ahead of the match at Stadium 974.
MORE: France vs. Denmark World Cup time, live stream, TV channel, lineups, odds
France vs Denmark starting lineups
France coach Didier Deschamps has a difficult decision to make over whether to change a winning team when his side meet the Danes.
Ibrahima Konate was preferred to the vastly more experienced Raphael Varane in defence for the opening game against Australia, but the latter is fit and raring to go for this one.
“He could have played, he was ready, he was fit. We discussed it with him,” Deschamps said of Varane.
“He was fit for the first game and he’s fit for the second game. We will have to make that decision. The main thing is that he’s fit and ready.”
MORE: Complete World Cup injury tracker, injuries for all 32 teams
France predicted starting 11
France (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Lloris (GK) – 2. Pavard, 24. Konate, 18. Upamecano, 22. T. Hernandez – 8. Tchouameni, 14. Rabiot – 11. Dembele, 7. Griezmann, 10. Mbappe – 9. Giroud
- Injured: Benzema, L. Hernandez, Coman
- Suspended: none
Deschamps will be forced into at least one change at the back after Lucas Hernandez suffered a knee injury that has ruled him out of the rest of the tournament. He joins Karim Benzema in taking no further part, after the Ballon d’Or winner was ruled out on the eve of the tournament.
Hernandez’s brother, Theo, will be his replacement, while Kingsley Coman is the only other doubt after missing training on Friday.
Denmark predicted starting 11
Denmark (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Schmeichel (GK) – 2. Andersen, 4. Kjaer, 5. Maehle 6. A. Christensen – 23. Hojbjerg, 10. Eriksen, 15. Norgaard – 11. Olsen, 13. Kristensen, 12. Dolberg
- Injured: Delaney
- Suspended: none
Thomas Delaney is set to miss the remainder of the World Cup after suffering a knee injury against Tunisia. Brentford midfielder Christian Norgaard is among the contenders to come in and replace him for this one.
France vs Denmark World Cup squads
France
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 23 | Alphonse Areola | West Ham (ENG) | 29 | 5 |
| GK | 1 | Hugo Lloris | Tottenham (ENG) | 35 | 139 |
| GK | 16 | Steve Mandanda | Rennes (FRA) | 37 | 34 |
| DEF | 3 | Axel Disasi | Monaco (FRA) | 24 | 0 |
| DEF | 21 | Lucas Hernandez | Bayern Munich (FRA) | 26 | 32 |
| DEF | 22 | Theo Hernandez | AC Milan (ITA) | 25 | 7 |
| DEF | 24 | Ibrahima Konate | Liverpool (ENG) | 23 | 2 |
| DEF | 5 | Jules Kounde | Barcelona (SPA) | 23 | 12 |
| DEF | 2 | Benjamin Pavard | Bayern Munich (GER) | 26 | 46 |
| DEF | 17 | William Saliba | Arsenal (ENG) | 21 | 7 |
| DEF | 18 | Dayot Upamecano | Bayern Munich (GER) | 23 | 7 |
| DEF | 4 | Raphael Varane | Manchester United (ENG) | 29 | 87 |
| MID | 25 | Eduardo Camavinga | Real Madrid (SPA) | 19 | 4 |
| MID | 13 | Youssouf Fofana | AS Monaco (FRA) | 23 | 2 |
| MID | 6 | Matteo Guendouzi | Marseille (FRA) | 23 | 6 |
| MID | 14 | Adrien Rabiot | Juventus (ITA) | 27 | 29 |
| MID | 8 | Aurelien Tchouameni | Real Madrid (SPA) | 22 | 14 |
| MID | 15 | Jordan Veretout | Marseille (FRA) | 29 | 5 |
| FWD | 11 | Ousmane Dembele | Barcelona (FRA) | 25 | 28 |
| FWD | 20 | Kingsley Coman | Bayern Munich (GER) | 26 | 40 |
| FWD | 9 | Olivier Giroud | AC Milan (ITA) | 36 | 114 |
| FWD | 7 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid (SPA) | 31 | 110 |
| FWD | 10 | Kylian Mbappe | PSG (FRA) | 23 | 59 |
| FWD | 26 | Marcus Thuram | Bor. M’Gladbach (GER) | 25 | 4 |
| FWD | 12 | Randal Kolo Muani | Monaco (FRA) | 23 | 2 |
Denmark
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Kasper Schmeichel | Nice (FRA) | 35 | 86 |
| GK | 16 | Oliver Christensen | Hertha Berlin (GER) | 23 | 1 |
| GK | 22 | Frederik Ronnow | Union Berlin (GER) | 30 | 8 |
| DEF | 6 | Andreas Christensen | Barcelona (SPA) | 26 | 58 |
| DEF | 4 | Simon Kjaer | AC Milan (ITA) | 33 | 121 |
| DEF | 17 | Jens Stryger Larsen | Trabzonspor (TUR) | 31 | 49 |
| DEF | 2 | Joachim Andersen | Crystal Palace (ENG) | 26 | 19 |
| DEF | 3 | Victor Nelsson | Galatasaray (TUR) | 24 | 7 |
| DEF | 13 | Rasmus Kristensen | Leeds United (ENG) | 25 | 10 |
| DEF | 26 | Alexander Bah | Benfica (POR) | 24 | 4 |
| DEF | 5 | Joakim Maehle | Atalanta (ITA) | 25 | 31 |
| DEF | 18 | Daniel Wass | Brondby (DEN) | 33 | 44 |
| MID | 8 | Thomas Delaney | Sevilla (SPA) | 26 | 20 |
| MID | 10 | Christian Eriksen | Manchester United (ENG) | 30 | 117 |
| MID | 23 | Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg | Tottenham (ENG) | 27 | 60 |
| MID | 14 | Mikkel Damsgaard | Brentford (ENG) | 22 | 18 |
| MID | 15 | Christian Norgaard | Brentford (ENG) | 28 | 17 |
| MID | 7 | Mathias Jensen | Brentford (ENG) | 26 | 20 |
| MID | 25 | Jesper Lindstrom | Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) | 22 | 6 |
| MID | 24 | Robert Skov | Hoffenheim (GER) | 26 | 11 |
| MID | 11 | Andreas Skov Olsen | Club Brugge (BEL) | 22 | 23 |
| FWD | 19 | Jonas Wind | Wolfsburg (GER) | 23 | 15 |
| FWD | 21 | Andreas Cornelius | Copenhagen (DEN) | 29 | 41 |
| FWD | 9 | Martin Braithwaite | Espanyol (SPA) | 31 | 62 |
| FWD | 20 | Yussuf Poulsen | RB Leipzig (GER) | 28 | 68 |
| FWD | 12 | Kasper Dolberg | Sevilla (SPA) | 25 | 37 |
Credit: sportingnews.com