Denmark – Tunisia. In Group D, that of France, Danes and Tunisians begin their World Cup. If the Europeans appear to be favourites, the Africans intend to create a surprise. Follow the meeting live with us.
14:23 – Goal disallowed for offside for Tunisia
After a corner which did nothing for Denmark, Dahmen sees Jebali’s call in front. The guardian sends his attacker into orbit. At the end of his race, he deceives Schmeichel with a small dive above his supporting leg but the flag goes up for an offside. Indeed, he had crossed the halfway line and found himself behind the defenders at the opening.
14:22 – Skhiri puts in a corner
On a free kick, 20 meters on the right side, Eriksen wraps at the far post but Skhiri is present and deflects for a corner.
14:21 – Talbi in disaster
On the left side, Maehle overflows and manages to lift his center towards the far post. With an opponent behind him, Talbi throws himself to take the ball away from him and put him for a corner.
14:18 – The Danes can’t do it
The Danish game fails to unfold. On a laser clear from Schmeichel on Skov Olsen on the right. in a hurry, he must play one touch forward and Dolberg who is outstripped by a Tunisian defender.
14:15 – First Danish incursion
For the first time in the game, the Danes approach Dahmen’s goal. On the left, Kristensen and Skov Olsen combine but the latter sees his cross from inside the area blocked by Talbi’s tackle. The Dane touches the ball again and it will therefore be a goal clearance.
14:13 – Msakni above
At the first post, Msakni deviates from the top of the head. It’s too crossed to be picked up by a partner but a little too high to be framed. His head passes just above the crossbar on the right.
14:12 – Drager misses the target
The Tunisians maneuver and try to pass to the left with Abdi who is blocked by Kristensen. The ball is not lost and returns in the axis at 18 meters where Drager arms right. Christensen deflects for a corner, failing to deceive Schmeichel.
14:05 – Christensen plays with fire
The Tunisians start the match with a lot of desire. Jelali recovers in the central circle and gives it to Ben Slimane who shifts into the Drager lane. The lateral crosses strong in rupture and Christensen controls in the surface. the Danish defender is chased by Jelali who steals the ball from him before trying his luck from a very tight angle on the right. The Barcelona defender counters before clearing his camp.
14:04 – Christensen on the trajectory
The first strike is signed by Tunisia and its captain Msakni who from outside the area lights up from the left. Christensen is on the trajectory and takes the ball with a header.
14:00 – Denmark and Tunisia launch hostilities!
The match starts in Al Rayyan, where Cesar Arturo Ramos whistles the kick off of Denmark – Tunisia, counting for the 1st day.
13:55 – Entrance of the two teams
In a beautiful atmosphere, in an all red stadium, the teams of Denmark and Tunisia enter the lawn. The anthems will sound before the entry into competition of the two nations.
13:55 – Denmark confident
“With the quality we have, we want to dictate the game as much as possible, to be sure that we are proactive on the pitch, that we have the mentality and the tenacity in the match to play as we do. normally. This is where we are at the moment, we want to go and climb the last meters”says Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand
13:50 – Lost streak
If they won their last match in the World Cup (against Panama in 2018, 2-1), Tunisia have the third highest percentage of losses for a nation having played at least 15 matches in the competition. This amounts to 60% (9/15). Only Saudi Arabia (69% – 11/16) and Australia (63% – 10/16) do worse.
13:45 – Nafti: “Interesting defensive potential”
“Tunisia have always had to do without this kind of individuality. The current selection is very disciplined and has managed to string together six matches without conceding a goal. It recently won the Kirin Cup by winning against Chile and Japan. The squad continues to progress and qualified for the World Cup after the third round and a double confrontation against Mali, which ended in a 1-0 victory in the first leg and a 0-0 draw on the return home. They are a team with interesting defensive potential.”decrypts Medhi Nafti on the website of the World Cup 2022. The former Tunisian international with 49 caps was from the African champion generation in 2004 who failed at the 2006 World Cup finishing 3rd in his group behind Spain and Ukraine.
13:40 – A solid defense
Since Jalel Kadri took office at the end of January, Tunisia has played 9 games and has kept a clean sheet 8 times. The only time she gave in was on September 27 and she had conceded 5 against Brazil (1-5). On the other hand, in the World Cup, Tunisia have conceded at least one goal in 14 of their 15 matches, the only exception being a goalless draw against the FRG in 1978.
13:35 – Reduced area
In 5 appearances at the World Cup, Denmark have scored 30 goals and none of these have been scored outside the opposition box. A statistic unique to the Danish selection.
13:30 – Denmark’s 6th World Cup
Like Tunisia, Denmark is taking part in its 6th World Cup since its first appearance in 1986. The only time the Danes failed to reach the round of 16 was in 2010 during the South African World Cup. Of the 20 matches they have played, the Scandinavians have won 9 for 5 draws and 6 defeats.
13:25 – A sixth in the World Cup
This is the sixth time since 1978 that Tunisia has played in the World Cup. Never until now the selection of the Eagles of Carthage has managed to cross the threshold of the group stage. She has only won two matches out of the 15 played in the competition (against Mexico in 1978 (3-1) and Panama in 2018 (2-1)).
13:20 – The European nightmare
A strong nation on the African continent, Tunisia is experiencing real difficulties against European teams. Thus, the Carthage Eagles have failed to win in their 10 confrontations with a selection from the Old Continent in the World Cup (3 draws and 7 defeats, editor’s note). For its part, Denmark have never lost in four games against African nations (2 wins and 2 draws).
13:15 – 20 years later
The one and only meeting between Denmark and Tunisia took place on May 26, 2002. Twenty years ago, in full preparation for the 2002 World Cup, the two nations had agreed on a friendly match in Wakayama in Japan and the Danes won 2-1, thanks to goals from Gronkjaer and Sand. Jaziri was the Tunisian striker.
13:10 – Act II
Denmark and Tunisia have only faced each other once in their shared history, when they met in a friendly in 2000 in Japan. This is the first time they have met in the World Cup.
13:05 – A Mexican whistle
The meeting will be refereed by Mexican Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos, already on the whistle at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He will be assisted by his compatriots Alberto Morin Mendez and Miguel Angel Hernandez Paredes. The trio will be completed by their compatriot Hector Said Martinez Sorto.
13:00 – Hello and welcome
Hello everyone and welcome to follow the live commentary of the 1st day of the group stage of the World Cup. Semi-finalist of the last Euro, Denmark rubs shoulders with Tunisia.