At one stage, it didn't look like it was going to happen, but Australia will be playing in the Round of 16 of their own Women's World Cup.
Their shock loss to Nigeria saw them sitting in third in Group B, facing a must-win clash against Canada to qualify, but the girls in green and gold turned it on when they needed to most, smashing the Olympic champions 4-0 in Melbourne to top the pool.
They will now look to build on the spectacular performance in their Round of 16 match against Denmark, who also won two matches in the group stages to secure second place behind England.
Australia cannot rest on their laurels, as there is no guarantee Sam Kerr will be fit to play, and they know their first two performances were not good enough for a side wanting to make a deep run at the tournament in front of their own fans.
MORE: Australia vs Denmark live blog
What time does Australia vs Denmark kickoff?
Australia's clash with Denmark will begin at 8:30 p.m. local time at Stadium Australia in Sydney. Here is how that time translates to selected territories around the world:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Mon, August 7 | 6:30 a.m. ET |
| Canada | Mon, August 7 | 6:30 a.m. ET |
| UK | Mon, August 7 | 11:30 a.m. BST |
| Australia | Mon, August 7 | 8:30 p.m. AEST |
| India | Mon, August 7 | 4:00 p.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Mon, August 7 | 6:30 p.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Mon, August 7 | 6:30 p.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Mon, August 7 | 6:30 p.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Mon, August 7 | 10:30 p.m. NZT |
MORE: Watch the Women's World Cup in USA live on Fubo
Where to watch Australia vs Denmark
Fans around the world will be able to watch the co-hosts in action live on both television and live stream. The game will be broadcast on free-to-air channels in Australia via Channel Seven and their streaming platform 7Plus.
| TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | Fox Sports 1, Telemundo (Spanish), Universo (Spanish) | Fubo, Fox Sports site/app, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (Spanish), Universo NOW (Spanish) |
| UK | BBC One, RTE 2 | BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web, RTE Player |
| Australia | Optus Sport, Channel Seven | Optus Sport, 7Plus |
| Canada | TSN1, TSN 4, TSN 5, RDS, CTV | TSN+, RDS app, CTV app |
| India | DD Sports | FanCode |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport 1 NZ, Prime TV | Sky Sport NOW, Prime TV |
| Singapore | FIFA WWC CH01 | meWATCH |
| Hong Kong | Now Sports Prime | Now Player |
| Malaysia | — | FIFA+ |
Fans in select regions of the world can stream the Women's World Cup live on FIFA+, including in Japan, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand.
MORE: All the key details for the Round of 16
Australia vs Denmark lineups, team news
Australia's World Cup campaign has been far from smooth from an injury standpoint. They were rocked just an hour before their opening match by news of superstar Sam Kerr's calf injury sustained in training, which ultimately led to her missing all of the group stage.
They were further disrupted before their second match against Nigeria, when exciting attacker Mary Fowler and veteran defender Aivi Luik were ruled out due to separate concussion incidents at training; the team missed Fowler in particular as they fell to a shock 3-2 defeat.
Fowler did make her return in the final and crucial match against Canada, where she scored twice in the 4-0 win; in that game, coach Tony Gustavsson played Fowler up front and moved Caitlin Foord out to the left wing so she could combine with club teammate Steph Catley in a move that unlocked the Matildas attack and saw them play their best football of the tournament.
Kerr has returned to team training but is still unlikely to start against Denmark due to her lack of game time, meaning there is a high chance of an unchanged lineup from the win over Canada.
Australia projected starting lineup (4-4-1-1): Arnold (GK) — Carpenter, Hunt, Kennedy, Catley — Raso, Gorry, Cooney-Cross, Foord — Van Egmond — Fowler
Denmark will be led by captain and star striker Pernille Harder, who has a goal and an assist to her name so far this tournament. She has been accompanied on either wing by a host of talented players, including Amalie Vangsgaard, who scored the winning goal against China.
The midfield has remained settled, with Karen Holmgaard and Kathrine Moller Kuhl being mainstays and putting in impressive performances throughout the group stages.
Their backline and goalkeeper remained largely the same for all three group-stage matches, with the side only conceding one goal, and that was a wondergoal from England's Lauren James.
Denmark projected starting lineup (4-3-3): Christensen (GK) — Sevecke, Boye, Ballisager, Veye — Holmgaard, Hasbo, Moller Kuhl — Vangsgaard, Harder, Sorensen
