Julien Laurens
French football expert on BBC Radio 5 live

Olivier Giroud is really well liked in France. He didn't play that long in Ligue 1, he had two seasons at Montpellier, they won the league together and then he went to Arsenal in 2012. So people in the lower leagues knew him but people following the top flight didn't.

Maybe the appreciation is not as high as it should be. Of course the 2018 World Cup team are all heroes but he's not really appreciated. I don't really know why because he scores loads of goals. Maybe he's not as talented as Thierry [Henry] or Kylian [Mbappe], but he's still a wonderful player.

National anthems = done. TTKO (time to kick-off) three minutes.

Image source, Getty Images

Each of Denmark's last four World Cup games have been draws. Only Belgium, between 1998 and 2002, have ever done five in a row.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Stadium 974

France's World Cup winning song Ramenez la coupe a la maison, which the winning players danced to on their homing at the Stade de France in 2018 has just been pumping out of the speakers.

French fans were waving their flags and singing along to it.

Image source, Getty Images

France striker Olivier Giroud will become France's all-time leading goalscorer if he nets today, breaking Thierry Henry's record of 51.

Giroud's double against Australia took him level with Henry.

Injuries to Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku on the eve of the tournament have left the 36-year-old as France's main central attacking option.

Julien Laurens
French football expert on BBC Radio 5 live

We thought for a long time Didier Deschamps wasn't going to pick Olivier Giroud because Benzema had come back and you can also pick Kylian [Mbappe] as a number nine and play centrally. At 36 years old there was a question mark around will Giroud accept being on the bench and possibly not playing a single second of the World Cup.

Then because he was really good in September when Deschamps replaced Benzema, who was injured for the international break, and since then the way he's played in Milan I think he had to take him. The fact that when he picked him up it was supposed to be behind Benzema and then Benzema gets injured - fate is once again on Giroud's side.

Now he's a starter and he scores two goals in the first game when he didn't score any in the six games he played at the 2018 World Cup.

It's an incredible story of someone that no-one believed in when he was younger, never went to an academy, he had to work his way up all the way through the fourth, third then second division. He's won everything now and at 36 it's an incredible reward for him to be so close to breaking that record.

You can listen to this game on BBC Radio 5 Live.

It's on the *other* TV channel... Ahem.

A good omen for France.

On both occasions they have won the World Cup, they have played Denmark in the group stages - 1998 and 2018.

Their other World Cup meeting was in 2002 when Denmark topped the group and France went out.

Australia beat Tunisia 1-0 earlier on in the other match in this group, with Mitchell Duke scoring the only goal.

Read the match report here and see the highlights below.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Stadium 974

There's a nice walk from the metro to Stadium 974 and I bumped into France fan Patrick, who has travelled over to Doha for the tournament.

Asked about the prospect of becoming France's all-time top scorer tonight, Patrick said: "Giroud is an excellent player for us, it is his work that brings Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann into play.

"Zinedine Zidane is..." Patrick points to the sky, "...up there. He is our greatest player but when Giroud retires he will be remembered as one of the best.

"He will go past Thierry Henry's record and has won the World Cup in 2018 too."

Image source, BBC Sport

Kylian Mbappe, one of the stars of the 2018 World Cup, got off to a good start in Qatar too.

He scored one and assisted another in the 4-1 win over Australia, with a few lovely touches and bits of skill too.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Stadium 974

Image source, BBC Sport

We've seen plenty of pics with fans wearing the local thobes in colours of their teams.

But this is not one I've seen before, a tricolor headscarf.

Looks like they've been doing a roaring trade in Doha.

Image source, .

France are my pick to win it but they played like they were entitled to just turn up and take the points in the first 15 minutes of their game against Australia. It was as if they thought the win would just happen for them.

Going a goal down kind of kickstarted them, and then we saw Kylian Mbappe wake up. When he isolates defenders and runs at them, he is just frightening to watch.

I don't see the holders - who I backed four years ago by the way - making a similarly slow start this time. Denmark have beaten France twice in the Nations League this year, but France will bring out their strut and swagger now, when it really matters.

One goal might be enough too. Former Denmark goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said on our 5 Live World Cup preview show that the Danes are short of a striker, and I don't see them scoring in this game either.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

If Denmark win today, they will do something nobody has ever done before - beaten France three times in the same year.

"They are underestimated as a team," said France boss Didier Deschamps.

"We are talking about a four-month period where they beat us twice and made life very difficult for us. We will have to make sure that's not the case.

"It is not a question of revenge because we know the Danish players and they know us. They can change system from one match to the other and that can give us different types of difficulties."

France captain Hugo Lloris said: "It gives you an idea of the level of this Danish team. It's a wake-up for us. We don't need any extra motivation. We are fully aware of the importance.

"We know it will be a decisive game for qualification. Every team is in a good place physically and athletically. We know it will be a big challenge - and we have to be ready."

Have a read of this if you have a few minutes...

Zinedine Zidane: Face of multi-cultural France and star of Les Bleus' 1998 World Cup triumph

These sides have met plenty of times in recent years. In fact the year being so recent it's this one.

Denmark have beaten Les Bleus twice this year, in June and September in the Uefa Nations League.

They also met at the 2018 World Cup in a goalless draw.

France's last win over the Danes was a 2015 friendly. You'd have to go back to the 2002 World Cup for their last competitive win in this fixture.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Stadium 974

You get a picturesque view of the stadium when darkness falls outside Stadium 974.

There's a giant World Cup trophy outside and France supporters had their hands on it... for now.

Denmark have come into the tournament with a bit of 'dark horse' chat about them - but they were disappointing in their opening goalless draw with Tunisia.

They will have to be much better today to get anything from this game.

France came from behind to beat Australia 4-1 in their opening game.

Adrien Rabiot equalised before Olivier Giroud scored twice and Kylian Mbappe netted the other.

The French looked excellent at times during that game.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Stadium 974

Manchester United defender Raphael Varane starts for France after leaving the pitch in tears against Chelsea on 22 October.

He is one of three changes made at the back by boss Didier Deschamps.

Varane replaces Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate and Jules Kounde is in for Benjamin Pavard.

A bittersweet moment for the Hernandez family, Lucas has been ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury so brother Theo is the beneficiary coming into the side.

As expected, Olivier Giroud starts up top looking to become France's all-time leading goalscorer.

France XI: Lloris, Kounde, Varane, Upamecano, T Hernandez, Tchouameni, Rabiot, Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe, Giroud.

Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand makes four changes to the side that drew 0-0 against Tunisia in their opener.

Brentford's Mikkel Damsgaard, Victor Nelsson, Jasper Lindstrom and Andreas Cornelius come in.

Thomas Delaney has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a knee injury, while skipper Simon Kjaer, Andreas Skov Olsen and Kasper Dolberg drop out.

Denmark XI: Schmeichel, Kristensen, Andersen, Nelsson, Christensen, Maehle, Hojbjerg, Damsgaard, Eriksen, Lindstrom, Cornelius.