World Cup: Group C Preview

MATCHES (EDT)

Saturday, June 16 - 6:00 a.m: France v. Australia
Saturday, June 16 - 12:00 p.m: Peru v. Denmark
Thursday, June 21 - 8:00 a.m: Denmark v. Australia
Thursday, June 21 - 11:00 a.m: France v. Peru
Tuesday, June 26 - 10:00 a.m: Australia v. Peru
Tuesday, June 26 - 10:00 a.m: Denmark v. France

Runners-up in the 2016 European Championships, France come into the World Cup with the fourth-best odds to win the tournament and the best odds among any team to win their group. That doesn't necessarily mean the other three teams are pushovers, but it just goes to show how good France are, even without Dimitri Payet, who was held off the team's final 23-man roster after suffering a hamstring injury during the Europa League final last month. With star power all over the pitch, France boast one of the deepest rosters in Russia, which could actually make fantasy decisions in tournament-long formats tougher because of the availability of rotation. That being said, Antoine Griezmann figures to be their talisman after scoring 15 goals during qualifying (tied with teammate Olivier Giroud). Group C could be tough, but the real conversation is about who will finish behind France.

Denmark are currently the favorite to finish second, and a significant reason is the play of Christian Eriksen, who is an excellent fantasy producer when he's playing for Tottenham, but he actually becomes even more valuable for the national team. Eriksen nearly single-handedly (footedly?) clinched Denmark's ticket to Russia by scoring a hat trick against Ireland in Dublin back in November, and his monopoly of set pieces should keep him a vital fantasy piece in nearly any format. He's not the only Danish player who can perform, but he has the highest floor and highest ceiling.

One of the teams trying to get ahead of Denmark will be Peru, who finally found out that star attacker Paolo Guerrero will be available for the tournament despite testing for performance enhancing drugs last year (it's probably just a coincidence that he's been cleared to play in a tournament in Russia after a failed PED test). Guerrero was initially suspended for the World Cup, but he'll now serve his sentence after the tournament thanks, in part, to a letter sent to FIFA by multiple national team captains asking that he be allowed to play. Guerrero's availability is a huge plus for Peru, who were surprisingly gifted a spot in Russia after Chile shockingly failed to qualify (writing about Peru isn't nearly as exciting as talking about Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal).

Peru could finish last in the group if they can't get a win against Australia, who are not nearly as good as they were four years ago when they...lost all three games. Australia have a few interesting players, including Huddersfield's Aaron Mooy, but they are literally underdogs in all three group stage matches and are expected to score the fewest goals and allow the most. In the end, a spot in the round of 16 is Denmark's to lose.

OFFICIAL ROSTERS

ODDS REPORT

Odds via bet365.com

PLAYER GOAL ODDS

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Australia: If you're a regular follower of the Premier League then you're well versed in what Aaron Mooy can do when he's given a monopoly of set pieces. That's the situation with the Socceroos, though unfortunately they're playing in a group that isn't likely to see him dominate. Those playing on DraftKings will certainly perk up when they hear that Mooy sent in 24 crosses against Thailand, 20 against Syria, and then 13 and 10 in two matches against Honduras, but it's tough to see him getting as many opportunities against Denmark and Peru (and certainly not France). He's the best fantasy player on the team, but it's unfortunately a team that's likely to be overmatched.

Denmark: Don't overthink this, Christian Eriksen is the guy you'll be paying up for when Denmark are on a slate. He does it all and his price is likely to be worth it, even with the dominant French players also available. If you really want to look beyond Eriksen and take someone who isn't the focal point of the attack, Pione Sisto was the more reliable attacker during qualifying ahead of Nicolai Jorgensen and Andreas Cornelius, though defensive midfielder Thomas Delaney had a few big performances, including a hat trick against Armenia.

France: Stacked with talent, France will only go as far as Antoine Griezmann takes them. He's not a huge peripheral stats accumulator, but he does his share of work and will always have very high goal odds, especially in this group. What's interesting about the French team is that it's so talented, but there isn't a ton of attacking upside in the midfield outside of Paul Pogba, and he's not really a big goal scorer anyway. That leaves the goals for Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud; that many players makes it a bit tough, but the focus really should be on the Atletico Madrid star.

Peru: Thirty-four-year-old Paolo Guerrero will get all the attention as he finally plays in his first World Cup, but Edison Flores and Jefferson Farfan may be the more interesting fantasy attackers. Flores co-led the team in goals during qualifying (tied with Guerrero), while Farfan led Lokomotiv Moscow in goals this past season. Those players have the fantasy upside, but safest fantasy floor likely belongs to Yoshimar Yotun because of his role on set pieces.

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Australia: Aaron Mooy, James Troisi, Massimo Luongo
Denmark: Christian Eriksen, Michael Krohn-Dehli, Lasse Schone
France: Antoine Griezmann, Thomas Lemar, Nabil Fekir, Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba
Peru: Yoshimar Yotun, Cristian Cueva, Miguel Trauco

EXPECTED PENALTY TAKERS

Australia: Mile Jedinak, Aaron Mooy
Denmark: Christian Eriksen
France: Antoine Griezmann
Peru: Paolo Guerrero, Jefferson Farfan, Cristian Cueva

ROUND OF 16 OPPONENTS

• Winner of Group C plays the runner-up of Group D (Argentina, Croatia, Iceland, Nigeria)
• Runner-up of Group C plays winner of Group D