Denmark dented by Australia

Australia 1-0 Denmark
A Josh Kennedy goal 19 minutes from time saw Denmark slip to a 1-0 defeat by fellow FIFA World Cup hopefuls Australia in Rootepoort, South Africa, on Tuesday.

Kennedy was given time and space in the Denmark penalty area to turn and fire in the winner past goalkeeper Stephan Andersen, after Australia had spent the majority of the game on the back foot.

Throughout the 90 minutes it was obvious that both teams had been emphasising physical training in recent days and were also focused on avoiding injury so close to the start of the tournament. This resulted in limited scoring opportunities.

Midfielder Daniel Jensen missed the best chance for Morten Olsen's side in the first half while Kennedy went close for the Socceroos. Early in the second half, Mark Schwarzer pulled off a fine save to deny Christian Poulsen from distance before Kennedy struck the decisive blow.

"We had a lot of the ball but it doesn't matter in football how much possession you have, it is scoring goals that counts," said Olsen. "Both teams had trouble getting used to the new World Cup ball so it was not a great performance by either team."

Denmark play their final warm-up match on Saturday against South Africa and then commence their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on 14 June. Further Group E matches against Cameroon and Japan follow for the 1992 European champions.