Australia made it through to the last 16 of the World Cup 2022 after shocking Denmark 1-0 on Wednesday.
Mathew Leckie scored the all-important goal in the second half, dribbling through from the halfway line to bury a shot past Kasper Schmeichel and see the Socceroos through to the knockouts for the first time since 2006.
This was also the first time they have ever won two games at the same finals, as well as the first time they have beaten a European opponent at the World Cup.
As for Denmark, they finish bottom of the quartet in very disappointing fashion, scoring only once and failing to win at all.
Here are the player ratings from the Group C clash.
Australia
Mat Ryan, 8. Two big first half saves were scrappy and unorthodox but ultimately effective. Very calm claiming high balls.
Milos Degenek, 6. Was given a bit of a tough time once or twice against Denmark’s wingers but like the rest of the defence stood up over and over to repel danger.
Harry Souttar, 8. The top Socceroo of the tournament so far, no question. Didn’t need to be as relentlessly powerful as against Tunisia but still made a few big challenges.
Kye Rowles, 7. Solid throughout, never put a foot wrong. Good aerially and held the line against the Danish attack.
Aziz Behich, 7. Booked really early on which could have made matters tricky but instead he simply ensured his positional work was perfect thereafter. Won lots of one-vs-ones.
Mathew Leckie, 7. Scored the massive and all-important opener with a brilliantly timed run and composed finish into the bottom corner.
Aaron Mooy, 8. Non-stop work rate. Lots of big challenges but also not afraid to pass forward and try to get his team on the front foot, even though they didn’t (initially at least) have to push the matter.
Jackson Irvine, 7. A team and fan favourite, gets through so much running. Always on hand to clear the second balls in front of his own defence, even if he’s not there to make the initial challenge.
Craig Goodwin, 6. Spent most of the first half tracking back and then subbed at the break.
Mitchell Duke, 7. Led the line well for his team, which mostly consisted of running into one channel then the other, occasionally getting a direct ball played his way and trying to hold it up and link. One wild shot, one half-decent one.
Riley McGree, 6. Another who was non-stop running and always on hand to either double up defensively or provide an outlet down the flank. Played the pass for the Leckie goal from deep.
Subs: K Baccus 6, B Wright n/a, J Maclaren n/a, A Hrustic n/a
Denmark
Kasper Schmeichel, 6. Couldn’t really do much about the goal, even though it sort of trickled into the corner. Not much else to do for a lot of the game, just a few efforts straight at him.
Rasmus Kristensen, 5. Played the first half but didn’t offer an awful lot in an attacking sense and subbed at the break.
Andreas Christensen, 6. Had to do so much more for the goal. Didn’t get tight to his man, didn’t close off the angle of the run and didn’t block the shot. Good in possession and in the air but given the minimal amount needed in defence the rest of the game, this was the big one he needed to get right.
Joachim Andersen, 5. Like his partner, didn’t have a huge amount to do but lost several aerial battles and was fortunate Irvine skied a second-half chance after pulling into space behind him.
Joakim Maehle, 6. Really strong as an out-ball in the first half, always high and wide and keen to get at his man, but faded after the interval and replaced.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 7. In fairness he tried to drive his team forward with increasing frequency but got absolutely nowhere with his attempted aggressive passing and the odd time he tried to shoot.
Christian Eriksen, 5. Really quiet. Poor set-piece delivery for much of the game, never really had much in the way of chances to shoot and didn’t really get too many glimpses of his passing quality in the final third either.
Mathias Jensen, 6. Was quite lively as a midfielder runner, frequently looking to make up the extra body in the box. Surprisingly replaced around the hour mark and nobody filled the job he had been doing.
Andreas Skov Olsen, 5. Another who started well and faded. Got plenty of shots off but mostly wild and wayward.
Jesper Lindstrom, 5. Offered a bit of an out-ball at times and early on got into the box to have a couple of shots, but nothing Australia couldn’t deal with.
Martin Braithwaite, 6. Decent movement and always tried to tee up his teammates, but not a goal threat himself. Even so, Denmark failed to really make anything happen in attack at all once he had departed.
Subs: A Bah 5, K Dolberg 5, M Damsgaard 5, R Skov 4, A Cornelius 4
