Australia vs Denmark
Australia captain Mile Jedinak slotted his second penalty at the World Cup to help Australia draw 1-1 with Denmark on Thursday and keep their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds alive.
Jedinak's 38th-minute goal cancelled out a seventh-minute strike from Christian Eriksen who rifled in at the Samara Arena after being set up by Nicolai Jorgensen's brilliant touch.
Denmark should have doubled their advantage when Jorgensen flashed a header wide at the near post as Australia looked ragged at the back and toothless up front.
Yet just as in their opening game, Australia were handed a route back into the match from the penalty spot, thanks to the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee.
Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz had failed to spot that Mathew Leckie's header had struck the arm of Yussuf Poulsen, but after being alerted to the incident by the VAR, he pointed to the spot.
Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel had not conceded for 571 minutes, but Jedinak calmly rolled home his penalty in the 38th minute to equalise.
Both teams' hopes of advancing will be settled in the final round of Group C matches, when Australia take on Peru and Denmark meet France.
Peru vs France
Kylian Mbappe became France's youngest scorer at a World Cup when he earned Les Bleus a 1-0 win against Peru in their second Group C game, sending the South Americans out of the tournament on Thursday.
The 19-year-old Mbappe tapped in after Olivier Giroud's shot looped over goalkeeper Pedro Gallese when it took a deflection off a defender in the 34th minute of a high-intensity match.
Peru, in their first World Cup finals since 1982, played boldly and had their best chance five minutes into the second half when Pedro Aquinho's fierce shot hit the post.
The result leaves France on six points and Denmark and Australia on four and one respectively after their 1-1 draw earlier in the day.
Peru have yet to win a point but they have won numerous hearts in Russia, thanks to their industrious style of play and the passion of their supporters, a remarkable 15,000 of whom made the journey to roar on their team in Yekaterinburg.
A peru fan during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group C match between France and Peru at Ekaterinburg Arena on June 21, 2018 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Source: Getty Images Europe
They could have had even more to cheer, were it not for several near misses.
Spotting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris off his line, Yoshimar Yotun tried an audacious shot from just inside the French half that went just over the bar as Peru unsettled their opponents in the early stages.
Croatia vs Argentina
Classy Croatia handed Argentina a 3-0 drubbing to claim a place in the World Cup knockout stage thanks to goals by Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic in their Group D match on Thursday.
Rebic seized on a gaffe by keeper Willy Caballero to open the way to victory for the Balkan side before a superb strike from outside the area by captain Modric 10 minutes from time with Rakitic putting the icing on the cake in added time.
Twice champions Argentina face a struggle to reach the last 16 even with Lionel Messi in their ranks after taking one point from their first two games. Croatia top the group with six.
