Denmark vs Tunisia World Cup 2022: Date & Time, Preview, Prediction, Team News

If Denmark have dreams of upsetting France and topping Group D, they must first achieve a positive result in their 2022 World Cup opener against Tunisia on Tuesday.

The Danes, led by star Christian Eriksen, upset France twice in Nations League play this past summer, but now must prove they belong at the World Cup too.

Still, Tunisia present a stiff challenge, having picked up some eye-catching results of late. The Eagles of Carthage have just one loss amongst their last nine matches - a heavy friendly defeat to tournament favorites Brazil. Yet victories over Mali, Chile, Iran, and Japan in that span prove they will need to be taken seriously.

Denmark will get their chance for a three-peat against France on the weekend, but first this match must be dealt with, or else they'll have gotten ahead of themselves.

Date, Time & Venue

Photo: The Sun

The Denmark vs Tunisia match will be played on November 22 at 8:00 pm in the Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan.

Match preview

Having won four of their previous five World Cup opening games, Denmark will head into Tuesday in sky-high spirits as they look to kick off their campaign with a bang.

Kasper Hjulmand's men secured their spot in Qatar thanks to a near-perfect qualification campaign, where they finished top of Group F after picking up 27 points from their 10 matches.

Photo: Sporting News

The Danes won each of their first nine qualifying matches, scoring 16 goals and keeping five clean sheets, before suffering a 2-0 loss against runners-up Scotland in the group finale on November 15.

They followed this with a solid run in the UEFA Nations Lweue, where they picked up 12 points from a possible 18 to finish second in Group A1, one point off group winners Croatia and seven above third-placed France.

Having also enjoyed an impressive performance at the Euro 2020, where they reached the semi-finals before falling short against England in extra-time, Denmark have shown that they can compete at the highest level.

Denmark will fancy their chances of not only securing a place in the knockout stages but also topping Group D, having prevailed over France when both sides squared off twice in the Nations League earlier this year.

On the other hand, Tunisia are making a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup after qualifying for the tournament in 2018, which saw their eight-year absence come to an end.

However, the Carthage Eagles' participation in Russia was short-lived, as they picked up three points from their three matches to finish third and suffer another group-stage exit from the tournament.

Tasked with guiding Tunisia to a first-ever knockout-stage appearance, manager Jalel Kadri has his job cut out after being drawn against France, Denmark and Australia for a place in the next round.

The North Africans had endured a shaky qualifying campaign, where they finished two points above runners-up Equatorial Guinea in Group B before narrowly claiming a 1-0 aggregate victory over Mali in the two-legged playoff back in March.

Since their victory over Eric Chelle's side, Tunisia have put together a fine run of results, claiming five wins and one draw from their subsequent seven matches across all competitions — a run which sees them sit top of Group J of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The 2014 AFCON champions, who are ranked 30th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will head into Tuesday in sky-high spirits following a 2-0 victory over Iran in last week's warm-up friendly.

Denmark vs. Tunisia team news

Photo: USA Today

There are no injury concerns for Denmark, as Andreas Christensen recovered from his ankle injury to see minutes with Barcelona before heading to the World Cup. Jonas Wind is on the roster and is fit to play despite missing Wolfsburg's final match before the World Cup break.

Tunisia midfielder Ellyes Skhiri suffered a fractured cheekbone in late October but returned to club action just a week later wearing a mask. He could do so at this tournament as well to avoid re-injury. Defender Omar Rekik is out for the tournament after picking up a muscle injury in late October.

Denmark vs. Tunisia key stats

Denmark have qualified for the knockout stage in four of their five FIFA World Cup appearances. Tunisia have never made it out of a World Cup group stage in five attempts.

Simon Kjaer is five caps away from moving into second all-time in Denmark international appearances, and needs eight to equal Peter Schmeichel for most all-time. Eriksen is four caps behind Kjaer.

Christian Eriksen needs three goals to pull into a tie for third all-time on Denmark's career leading scorer list. Eriksen needs five to move into a tie for second on the list.

Denmark possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Wass, Andersen, Christensen, Maehle; Delaney, Eriksen, Emile Hojbjerg; Olsen, Dolberg, Damsgaard

Tunisia possible starting lineup:

Dahmen; Drager, Talbi, Bronn, Abdi; Skhiri, Chaaleli, Laidouni; Slimane, Msakni, Khazri

Denmark vs. Tunisia prediction

Photo: Reuters

Denmark should come away with three points in this match, but it surely won't be easy. They'll need to breach a defense that, aside from the 5-1 defeat to Brazil in late September, hasn't conceded a single goal in eight straight matches.

They should have enough firepower to do so, just, with Christian Eriksen pulling the strings and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg able to create from midfield. Tunisia don't have the firepower to respond, with 31-year-old veteran Wahbi Khazri struggling for form at Montpellier.

Key Players

Tunisia manager Jalel Kadri will have his pick of Hannibal Mejbri or Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane. Together with Ellyes Skhiri and Aïssa Laïdouni, they will be the ones to look out for. Denmark, on the other hand, will want Yussuf Poulsen to score while Joakim Maehle giving his best to defend the side.

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