Denmark will make their sixth World Cup finals campaign with a game against Tunisia at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.
Venue: Education City Stadium (Al Rayyan)
Key Statistics
Denmark have won their opening group stage game in four of their previous five World Cup appearances (L1).
They hold an unbeaten record against CAF nations in the World Cup (W2, D2).
Denmark have failed to score only two times in their last 15 games.
Tunisia have kept 12 clean sheets in their last 20 matches
They have failed to score in five of their last ten games played away from home.
Tunisia have won just two of their previous 15 games in the competition (D4, L9), keeping one clean sheet.
Head to head
Denmark beat Tunisia 2-1 in a friendly game in 2002. That meeting is the only meeting between both sides.
Latest performances in all competitions
Denmark: W-L-W-L-W
Tunisia: W-L-W-W-W
Denmark
Denmark will look to continue their growth journey in Qatar, beginning with this game against Tunisia.
Kasper Hjulmand’s side have continued to improve and are set to make their sixth appearance at a World Cup finals after a near-perfect qualifying campaign (W9, L1). That qualifying record was secured courtesy of a defence that conceded just three goals – the joint-lowest total of any team that played in a six-team group.
However, coming into this tournament, the Danish federation was hostile to FIFA’s decision to host the tournament in Qatar. But coach Kasper Hjulmand stated his team would now “concentrate on football” after FIFA banned them from training with jerseys bearing the message “Human Rights for All”.
De Rød-Hvide arrive with high ambitions and will fancy their chances of qualifying from this group which also has France and Australia. Having already beaten France two times in the UEFA Nations League earlier this year, Denmark will be confident here.
They have won their opening group stage game in four of their previous five World Cup appearances (L1). They also hold an unbeaten record against CAF nations in the World Cup (W2, D2), so belief will be strong.
Possible Denmark starting line-up
Kasper Schmeichel; Nissen Kristensen, Simon Kjær, Andreas Christensen, Joakim Maehle; Thomas Delaney, Christian Eriksen, Pierre Emil Højbjerg; Robert Skov, Martin Braithwaite, Mikkel Damsgaard.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Tunisia
Tunisia are one of the five African teams looking to make their mark in the FIFA World Cup this year.
They currently are ranked the second-highest team in Africa (behind Senegal) and will be desperate to improve on their miserable World Cup record.
Like Denmark, this will be Tunisia’s sixth World Cup finals appearance, but they have won just two of their previous 15 games in the competition (D4, L9) with only one clean sheet across those World Cup matches.
However, things could be different this time for the Eagles of Carthage who were on a run of seven straight games without conceding a single goal before suffering a 5-1 thrashing against Brazil in September.
Coach Jalel Kadri said they “reassured themselves” after a 2-0 win against Iran for their last pre-World Cup friendly encounter. However, this upcoming game against a European nation will represent a tougher assignment as Tunisia are still winless against European opposition in the World Cup (D3, L7).
If they can survive the opening exchanges, they could grab a good result, given that they’ve conceded first within 15 minutes in three of their last four World Cup matches against UEFA nations currently ranked in FIFA’s top ten.
Possible Tunisia starting line-up
Bechir Ben Saïd; Mohamed Dräger, Dylan Bronn, Montassar Talbi, Ali Maâloul; Aissa Laidouni, Ellyes Skhiri, Ali Ben; Wahbi Khazri, Seifeddine Jaziri, Youssef Msakni.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
Prediction
Denmark 1-0 Tunisia
Live Stream
For details, FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 – TV Broadcast / Live Stream