Australia into Round of 16 after beating Denmark 1-0 in the third match of Group D.
Matthew Leckie scored the only goal of the competition in the 60th minute to leave the Socceroos second in the group, two points clear of third-placed Tunisia, who beat France superbly 1-0.
Australia reached the round of 16 for the second time in their history, while Denmark were knocked out at the World Cup group stage for only the second time.
As runners-up in Group D, Graham Arnold’s men will face the winners of Group C, which could possibly be Argentina, in the next round.
Australia had a half-chance in the third minute when Riley McGree broke forward and drilled one from outside the Denmark penalty area, but Andreas Christensen made a crucial block.
Denmark had their first real chance in the 11th minute when Mathias Jensen shot wide, but the midfielder’s effort in the Australian goal was blocked by Matthew Ryan.
Andreas Skov Olsen fired a shot over the bar soon after, before Kasper Schmeichel saved Mitchell Duke’s shot at the other end of the area.
Christian Eriksen pulled one past Australia’s post in the 29th minute as Denmark threatened to break through.
Australia also threatened at the other end, with Schmeichel having to save Duke’s goal in the 42nd minute, but the two teams went into the break tied 0-0.
Australia had another chance in the 48th minute when Jackson Irwin found himself in Denmark’s box, but the midfielder shot over the bar.
But the Socceroos took the lead on the hour mark when Leckie ran onto a clever pass from McGregor before darting into space to expertly pick out the bottom corner of the net.
The referee awarded Denmark a penalty in the 20th minute after Kasper Dolberg was brought down in the penalty area, but the offside flag saved Australia.
A second-half collapse saw Australia continue to fall, but Denmark’s lack of quality is relatively easy for Arnold’s side.
Harry Souttar was superb in the Socceroos’ finish, with the centre-back making a couple of key goals and Alexander Bach missing a late set-piece chance for Denmark.
Ryan also had to withstand the pressure towards the end as Andreas Cornelius hit forward in the dying moments and Australia kept a clean sheet to secure the victory they needed to reach the last 16 on a record two wins and a loss from three matches. in the episode.
Lineups:
Australia Replacements: Andrew Redmayne, Danny Vukovic,Joel King,Thomas Deng,Bailey Wright, Nathaniel Atkinson, Fran Karačić, Cammy Devlin, Keanu Baccus, Ajdin Hrustić, Garang Kuol, Awer Mabil, Marco Tilio, Jason Cummings, Jamie Maclaren
Denmark Replacements: Oliver Christensen, Frederik Rønnow, Simon Kjær, Victor Nelsson, Alexander Bah, Jens Stryger Larsen, Christian Nørgaard, Daniel Wass, Mikkel Damsgaard, Robert Skov, Andreas Cornelius, Kasper Dolberg, Yussuf Poulsen, Jonas Wind
Scorers:
Australia
60′ Matthew Leckie
Yellow Cards:
Aziz Behich
Milos Degenek
Robert Skov
