World Cup 2022: Can Tunisia Put Up a Fight Versus Denmark?

Denmark vs Tunisia

Denmark begin their World Cup 2022 campaign against Tunisia on Tuesday, and securing the victory is a must for them to claim one of the top spots in Group D.

Here at SBOTOP, we listed the Danes as one of the favourites to come out of the group alongside defending champions France, and this is their time to prove their credentials against the less fancied Tunisia. 

Kasper Hjulmand’s men are looking to follow up their impressive run in Euro 2020 where they were a controversial England penalty away from making it to the final, and it’ll be fascinating to see how they’ll fare in Qatar.

As for their counterparts Tunisia, they’ll aim to prove that they belong in the sport’s showpiece event. Despite their underdog status, they come into Qatar with high morale since they’ve been in fine form.

Talking Points

Denmark will some noise in Qatar

Denmark are tipped as one of the dark horses in Qatar given their experience in major competitions and their collection of under-the-radar talent.

Christian Eriksen, who is the story of the year after his miraculous comeback from cardiac arrest in Euro 2020, is Denmark’s heartbeat and he’s on the top of his game given his solid campaign thus far with Manchester United.

Eriksen will be joined by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Thomas Delaney, and Christian Norgaard in the middle, while up front they have the likes of Mikkel Damsgaard, Yussuf Poulsen, Kasper Dolberg, and Jesper Lindstrom.

Andreas Christensen is easily Denmark’s most influential defender and he’ll team up with Joakim Maehle, Simon Kjaer, Rasmus Kristensen, Joachim Andersen, among others, to provide cover for the wily goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

After breezing through the qualifiers with eight wins and zero goals conceded in eight games, Denmark have endured a rather inconsistent stretch in recent international breaks as they’ve alternated wins and losses in their last five Nations League matches.

They did beat France 2-0 most recently, though, which should boost their confidence.

Difficult draw for Tunisia

The Carthage Eagles are hoping to get positive World Cup 2022 results even if they’re expected to exit early. Even if one of France or Denmark underperform in the group stage, they’ll still face stiff competition against an opportunistic Australia side.

Jalel Kadri will certainly have his work cut out for him, so he’ll lean heavily on his experienced veterans while he may opt to give his youngsters opportunities to showcase their talent in the big stage.

Wahbi Khazri will captain the squad once more and he’ll be joined by Youssef Msakni up front. Khazri plays for Montpellier in Ligue 1 and he has 24 goals in 71 caps, while Al Arabi forward Msakni has 17 goals in 87 caps.

Aissa Laidouni and Ellyes Skhiri are tasked to lead their midfield. Laidouni is currently playing for Hungarian club Ferencvaros, while Skhiri plies his trade in the German Bundesliga for Koln.

But the two wildcards to watch out for are Anis Ben Slimane and Hannibal Mejbri. These players are barely scratching the surface and both will be valuable pieces off the bench for the Carthage Eagles.

History

This is going to be the second-ever encounter between Denmark and Tunisia, and first at the World Cup. Prior to Tuesday, Denmark beat Tunisia 2-1 in Japan during an exhibition game before the 2002 World Cup.

The Danes are undefeated against African opposition at the World Cup (W2, D2), while Tunisia have never prevailed against European sides in this competition (D3, L7).

Denmark will be making their sixth appearance at the World Cup and it’s only the second time that they have qualified in back-to-back tournaments after 1998 and 2002.

Tunisia are also entering their sixth World Cup, but they’ve only recorded two total wins in 15 World Cup games. Similar to Denmark, this is also only the second time that they’ve qualified in consecutive tournaments after 2002 and 2006.

Betting Tip

The World Cup 2022 odds are backing Denmark to win. They are installed at 1.47, whereas Tunisia are the underdogs at 6.80 and chances for a draw are at 4.10 in the 1X2 market.

Expect Tunisia to be conservative since it has worked for them lately. They’ve secured seven clean sheets in their last eight games across all competitions, and with this approach, scoring opportunities might be hard to come by.

But Denmark should have enough to eke out a quality win, although this won’t be a high-scoring affair – making Under 2.50 @ 2.14 a viable alternative bet.

 

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