FIFA World Cup 2018 Group C Prediction

Winners in 1998, France are the star attraction in Group C, from which they are expected to progress with little drama to the sharp end of the tournament.

Group C

Surprise South American qualifiers Peru are also in Group C, and will open their first World Cup finals tournament since 1982 with a game against Denmark. Australia will be France’s first opponents.

Read on for the fixtures, group odds and forecasts in Group C…

Teams

France

  • Qualified as winners of European Group A, where they finished four points clear of both Sweden and the Netherlands.
  • Key Players: Antoine Griezmann has enjoyed another season full of goals for Atletico Madrid, and he forms one part of a young, exciting French strikeforce that also includes Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele. Experienced striker Olivier Giroud has continued his goalscoring form with France, even having failed to fire since joining Chelsea. Behind them, Man United’s £89m man Paul Pogba pulls the strings in the middle.
  • Last five results:
    • D
    • L
    • W
    • W
    • W
  • Odds to win the tournament: 13/2 (Bet365)

Australia

  • Qualified after beating Honduras in the inter-continental play-offs, having initially finished third in their AFC qualifying group.
  • Key Players: Veteran striker Tim Cahill will play in his final World Cup at the age of 38, having scored 50 goals and appeared in more than 100 games for Australia. Captain Mile Jedinak will lead the midfield, with Huddersfield’s Aaron Mooy providing the creative spark alongside Aston Villa’s enforcer.
  • Last five results:
    • D
    • W
    • L
    • D
    • W
  • Odds to win the tournament: 500/1 (Ladbrokes)

Peru

  • Beat New Zealand over two legs in the inter-continental play-offs, after snatching fifth place in South American qualifying.
  • Key Players: Edison Flores scored five times in qualifying, one more than experienced striker Jefferson Farfan. Peru have also been bolstered by the lifting of captain Paolo Guerrero’s doping suspension – he marked his comeback with two goals against Saudi Arabia.
  • Last five results:
    • D
    • D
    • W
    • W
    • W
  • Odds to win the tournament: 200/1 (Bet365)

Denmark

  • Beat Republic of Ireland 5-1 in the second leg of their European play-offs, thanks to Christian Eriksen’s hat-trick.
  • Key Players: Spurs’ playmaker Christian Eriksen showed his class with a hat-trick in the second leg against Ireland to book Denmark their place at the World Cup. He has enjoyed another first-class Premier League season too. Nicolai Jorgensen’s breakthrough season with Feyenoord last year fired them to the Dutch title, and while he has not been as prolific in 2017-18, he has still reached double figures for the fourth consecutive season and is a threat up front.
  • Last five results:
    • D
    • W
    • W
    • D
    • D
  • Odds to win the tournament: 100/1 (Bet365)

Group C Fixtures

France

VS10:00 GMTJune 16th

Kazan Arena, Kazan

Australia

Peru

VS16:00 GMTJune 16th

Mordovia Arena, Saransk

Denmark

Denmark

VS12:00 GMTJune 21st

Cosmos Arena, Samara

Australia

France

VS15:00 GMTJune 21st

Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg

Peru

Denmark

VS14:00 GMTJune 26th

Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow

France

Australia

VS14:00 GMTJune 26th

Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi

Peru

Group C Betting Tips & Prediction

Group Betting

Unsurprisingly, as top seeds and the only team in Group C not to have needed the play-offs to qualify for the World Cup finals, France are favourites to top the group.

Bet365 are offering 2/7 on the French winning the group, with Denmark second favourites at 9/2. Peru are 10/1 and Australia are outsiders at 20/1.

Group Qualification Yes/No

There is even less value in backing France to qualify for the second round – they are 1/20 to qualify from Group C with Bet365 while Denmark are also odds-on at 4/6.

In the four World Cups they have qualified for, Denmark have only once failed to reach the last-16, though that was in their most recent tournament in 2010.

Australia, meanwhile, have been knocked out in the group stage in each of the last two tournaments – losing all three matches as they crashed out in 2014. Given their difficulty in even reaching the finals this year, they will not be expected to do much again this time.

That leaves Peru, who are the unknown factor in many respects – they have surpassed expectations just reaching the World Cup, particularly at Chile’s expense in the South American group. Having scraped through their play-off against New Zealand, however, it also seems unlikely they will be able to usurp Denmark or France.

Group Forecast

Given Denmark are odds-on favourites to join France in the second round, and France are such big favourites to win Group C, you will maximise your potential rewards by opting for a Group Forecast bet instead.

Bet365 are offering 6/4 on France winning the group and Denmark finishing second. Considering they are higher odds than the Spain-Portugal forecast in Group B, where both sides will fancy their chances of finishing top, 6/4 is a very generous price for France-Denmark.

To Finish Bottom of Group

Australia are 4/5 favourites to finish bottom of Group C, but will take heart from the fact Peru needed two legs to overcome a New Zealand side that the Aussies have so regularly out-performed. Peru are 2/1 to finish bottom, but the return of captain Paolo Guerrero is a huge boost, and if he hits top form they should out-gun Australia.

Group C Recommended Bet

It is clear France are the favourites to win Group C, and it is also clear Denmark are expected to join them in the second round. With that in mind, it is a very generous price being offered by Bet365 on the 1st – France, 2nd – Denmark forecast. Back them to finish in that order at 6/4 with Bet365.

Group C prediction

France (6/4 to finish 1st with Denmark 2nd with Bet365)

Denmark (8/13 to qualify with Bet365)

3) Peru (2/5 to fail to qualify for the second round with Bet365)

4) Australia (4/5 to finish bottom of Group C with Bet365)