FIFA World Cup Match Preview: Denmark vs Tunisia

Group D

Denmark vs Tunisia

Match preview

Denmark are touted as the dark horses of this World Cup on the back of reaching the semifinals of the European Championship last year.

The current squad has been christened the Golden Generation, a description that often comes with a lot of pressure on such a big stage – but one that coach Kasper Hjulmand seems equally prepared for.

It’s not an easy group, however, alongside one of five African sides in Tunisia, the reigning champions France, whose squad has an injury crisis, as well as Australia.

Tunisia did not make it past the group stages at the previous global showpiece in Russia and only managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, they haven’t set the continent ablaze.

But everyone’s talking about Denmark.

Team News

Denmark

Like most sides in the lead up to Qatar, the Danish have had their fair share of injury concerns and it’s no wonder FIFA gave teams until 24 hours before their opening fixture to call on replacements if need be.

Striker Jonas Wind was one of those players on the watch list, but he should now be available for selection to help Denmark continue their purple patch, though recently they have suffered two defeats from five games.

Tunisia  

Just one loss in five matches suggests The Eagles of Carthage are all set for what will be a tricky group to navigate given the pedigree of the opponents.

When selecting his squad, coach Jalel Kadri did not make any major surprises, keeping it predictable with his tried and tested – the only notable omission being that of French-based star Saif-Eddine Khaoui, a member of the squad at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

In total, Kadri has 10 players who return to guide the rest of their teammates in another assignment in Qatar and hoping to do better than when they lost to both England and Belgium in their group then, but managed a consolation three points against lowly Panama.

Players to watch

Age: 30

Club: Manchester United (England)

Eriksen put the world on its knees in June last year when he suffered cardiac arrest on the pitch while playing for Denmark.

Following six months without playing and having his contract terminated by Inter Milan due to having a device implanted in his body, English Premier League side Brentford threw the midfielder a lifeline…and the rest, as they say, is history.

He is now at United and set to play at a World Cup again for his country as one of the key players in the side.

Wahbi Khazri (pictured above)

Age: 31

Club: Montpellier (France)

An experienced campaigner with more than 70 national team appearances and 24 goals under his belt – Khazri is the headline act in his Tunisia outfit.

He moved this season from one French topflight division side Saint-Etienne to another, Montpellier and has settled in well as a regular.

His scoring boots will be needed against Denmark in this opening match.