There’s just 270 minutes separating the Socceroos from a second berth in the World Cup knockout stages.
But there’s three other teams in Group D who would love nothing more than to book passage to the Round of 16 at the Aussies’ expense.
The 2022 World Cup sees Australia pitted against France and Denmark for the second consecutive tournament, while Tunisia represents an entirely different entity.
Foxsports.com.au previews all four nations in Group D and assesses the likely fates that await them once the group stages are complete.
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FULL GROUP D FIXTURE LIST (ALL TIMES AEDT)
Wednesday November 23, 12am: Denmark vs Tunisia, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
Wednesday November 23, 6am: France vs Australia, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Saturday November 26, 9pm: Tunisia vs Australia, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Sunday November 27, 3am: France vs Denmark, Stadium 974, Doha
Thursday December 1, 2am: Australia vs Denmark, Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Thursday December 1, 2am: Tunisia vs France, Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
AUSTRALIA
Simply making it to this World Cup amid a seemingly endless qualification campaign was a massive victory in itself. The heroics of Andrew Redmayne in a penalty shootout against Peru sealed a spot in the 32 competing nations in Qatar as Arnold and his troops celebrated long into the night. 17 Aussies are making their World Cup debuts as Arnold’s decision to act as Olyroos coach alongside his Socceroos duties paid dividends.
There’s also plenty of hype surrounding teen sensation Garang Kuol, who is remarkably yet to even start a professional game. The 18-year-old made his Socceroos debut against New Zealand in September and subsequently earned a January transfer to Premier League outfit Newcastle United. His scintillating form for the Central Coast Mariners this season rightly earned him a spot in Arnold’s 26-man squad and could prove to be a real X-factor off the bench should he be called upon.
However, a number of key Socceroos head into the opening fixtures under significant injury clouds. Towering defender Harry Souttar is coming off an ACL injury and only recently returned to play for club side Stoke City while Hibernian flyer Martin Boyle was ruled out on Sunday night, with Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio brought in as his replacement.
Star man: Ajdin Hrustic
Ajdin Hrustic will be expected to shoulder a significant amount of the creative burden for the Socceroos. Hrustic arrived in Qatar without many minutes in recent games due to an ankle injury, but was named on the bench for Serie A side Hellas Verona in their final fixture before the international break.
A silky midfielder who is lethal on set pieces, Hrustic’s eye for a teammate’s run or his silky dribbling skills will be crucial to the Socceroos’ success.
The manager: Graham Arnold
Graham Arnold, affectionately known as ‘Arnie’, has proved to be a polarising figure in Australian football at times. Yet there could be no doubting his credentials having guided the Socceroos to Qatar amid a gruelling qualification campaign in which he contracted Covid twice and lived out of a suitcase for over half a year.
Never afraid of making brutal selection calls or giving young players a chance, Arnold has an unshakeable belief in his squad. He faces an uncertain future once the World Cup is over as his contract with Football Australia expires, but until then, he’ll make the most of every moment.
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Why they’ll qualify for the knockout stages: Arnold and many of his closest confidants truly believe the Socceroos and shock the world and make it through to the knockout stages. And that belief is found in abundance throughout his squad. Just about everyone outside of Australia has written off the Socceroos’ chances before a ball has been kicked in anger. But that’s the way Arnold and his squad like it.
In tournament football, the style on display is nowhere near as important as the result and Arnold knows what it takes to grind out a victory or draw. This team has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Why they’ll be on the first flight home: On paper, the Socceroos’ talent is dwarfed by the likes of France and Denmark. The Aussies aren’t the type to dominate the ball and carve out chance after chance and it’s likely Arnold’s troops will be defending for the vast majority of the 90 minutes against France and Denmark.
With a number of the Aussies’ likely starters carrying knocks, not being able to wheel out the best-possible team will likely prove harmful and could kill the Socceroos’ tournament.
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DENMARK
Denmark have often emerged as a neutral’s favourite in tournament football due to their attractive style of play and youthful exuberance. The Danes are coming off an extremely impressive showing at Euro 2020 when they went on a run all the way to the semi-finals, only to be knocked out by England in the semi-finals.
What made that deep journey even more special was the fact they did it after talismanic midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in a group stage match against Finland. Somehow, Eriksen returned to the pitch in January this year with Premier League side Brentford and looked completely at home.
Denmark qualified for Qatar with relative ease as they finished top of Group F with nine wins from 10 games, scoring 30 goals and conceding just three in the process. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel will also be a pivotal presence between the sticks having been a mainstay of the national team for several years. Brentford star Mikkel Damsgaard will also be one to keep an eye on, as the energetic forward looks to continue his rise to prominence.
Star man: Christian Eriksen
There’s no doubt that with Christian Eriksen in the squad, Denmark are automatically a dangerous prospect. A shining light in an otherwise dull Manchester United squad, Eriksen has shown he still has plenty of quality in his locker although he hasn’t been utilised in his normal position as a central attacking midfielder at club level.
We’ve seen just how important set pieces can be during tournament football and with Eriksen’s ability to deliver a wicked ball into the box, expect opposition defenders to shake in their boots a little when they see the Dane step up and take free-kicks.
The manager: Kasper Hjulmand
Since taking over the national team from Age Hareide in July 2020, Kasper Hjulmand has overseen 34 games as Denmark boss and won 23 of them with a semi-final at Euro 2020 to boot. Hjulmand has been linked with a number of Premier League roles since that Euro run, such is the regard the former Nordsjælland is held in.
His ability to galvanise the team after the horrifying scenes when Eriksen collapsed against Finland was also something special. A manager who is flexible with his tactics depending on the opposition, Hjulmand almost always utilises a possession-based style of play most often with a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 formation.
Why they’ll qualify for the knockout stages: The talismanic presence of Christian Eriksen will prove inspirational to this team, there’s no doubt about it. Hjulmand’s flexibility with setting his team up for lightning attacks or to sit in and defend will unsettle teams too. A team filled with quality players that are adaptable will likely prove to be the difference. It’s rather difficult to prove why Denmark won’t qualify.
Why they’ll be on the first flight home: Well, if France perform and the Aussies qualify for the knockout stages, that’ll mean an early exit for the Danes. But otherwise it’s hard to imagine why this team won’t make it to the knockout stages.
FRANCE
France look to make it back-to-back World Cup titles having emerged victorious in 2018 with a dominant win over Croatia in the final. Despite a disappointing performance at Euro 2020 which culminated in a Round of 16 defeat to Switzerland on penalties, Didier Deschamps’ side remain a big favourite for the World Cup.
The squad has been ravaged by injuries with midfield duo N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba ruled out, as are recent Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku. Star defender Raphael Varane is not fully fit either. Yet the squad is still dripping with talent in every position and expectations back home are high. A victory in the Nations League final over Spain served as a timely reminder of what this squad is capable of too.
Star man: Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe hadn’t quite become a household name going into the 2018 World Cup, but after scoring four goals — including a 25-yard worldie in the final against Croatia — everyone knew who he was.
The 23-year-old is one of the best players in the world and has incredible poise in front of goal to go with his lightning pace that has opposition defenders frightened beyond belief.
He can operate just about anywhere along the front three so no defender is safe.
With 19 goals in 20 club appearances this season, Mbappe heads to Qatar in red-hot form and will look to pick up right where he left off.
The manager: Didier Deschamps
Didier Deschamps guided Les Bleus to a second World Cup trophy in 20 years and the expectation from the French will be that it’s very much boom or bust for the 54-year-old this time around. Interestingly enough, Deschamps is out of contract after the World Cup and with French legend Zinedine Zidane out of work and reportedly eyeing up the job, it could be Deschamps’ last bow with the national team for some time.
Why they’ll qualify for the knockout stages: Most nations would do unspeakable things to have just one of Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele or Kingsley Coman at their disposal. Luckily for the French, they have all of them and so much more.
The midfield is brimming with talent too in the likes of Real Madrid duo Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, while the backline is stacked in every position. Quite simply, this side is too good not to qualify and even if they find themselves behind at any stage, the quality in this side will find a way to get through to the Round of 16 at a minimum.
Why they’ll be on the first flight home: Could France be the latest nation to fall to the World Cup winner’s curse? Italy won in 2006 but bombed out in the group stage in 2010. Then it was Spain’s turn to make an early exit in 2014 having won four years prior. Germany made it three in a row having won in 2014 but exiting earlier than expected in 2018. Even France, winners in 1998, crashed out of the group stages in 2002 without a win.
Aside from those who are superstitious, a tumultuous build-up in French football could easily unsettle this team. Paul Pogba was accused by his own brother of asking a witch doctor to curse Kylian Mbappe and the latter was locked in a dispute with the French Football Federation and KFC over his image rights in recent months. It only takes one unsettled squad member to derail an entire campaign and with the French, it often feels that this is something that’s never too far away.
TUNISIA
After missing both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, Tunisia made a return to the tournament in 2018 but had the unfortunate luck of being drawn in the same group as Belgium and England, who both went as far as the semi-finals. However, the Tunisians beat Panama and scored five goals in Russia, the most they had ever scored out of the five World Cups they have appeared at.
Tunisia is also coming off a quarter-final appearance at the 2021 African Cup of Nations, a disappointing return by their standards. Tunisia’s 26-man squad also features four goalkeepers, a bold call.
There’s also a bit of experience within the squad too, with only two players — goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen and defender Nader Ghandri — having less than 10 caps to their name. Manchester United fans will also be watching this team with a keen interest due to the presence of teenage midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, who is on loan at Birmingham City.
Star man: Wahbi Khazri
Wahbi Khazri is second in Tunisia’s all-time goalscoring charts with 24 goals from 71 appearances. What makes his feat all the more impressive is that he is traditionally an attacking midfielder by trade. A former Premier League player with Sunderland, Khazri will be the creative linchpin in a side that won’t be expected to have a lot of the ball.
The manager: Jalel Kadri
Jalel Kadri has been in the Tunisian hot seat for less than a year having been promoted from his assistant coach role in January. But Kadri proved he was the right man for the job having led Tunisia to a spot at the World Cup thanks to a 1-0 aggregate victory over Mali in the third and final stage of qualification in Africa. With a CV the length of an arm, Kadri has plenty of experience in his back pocket.
Why they’ll qualify for the knockout stages: The Tunisians have adopted a more defensive style of play in recent times which, despite its drawbacks, could be tailor-made for tournament football. Keeping opposition attackers at bay — something Tunisia will have to do for large portions of games given the forward firepower available to the opposition — will be critical.
All it takes is a moment of magic from Khazri or one of his teammates and Tunisia could be nicking a narrow victory. There’s also the added benefit of five players in the squad plying their trade in domestic leagues in the Middle East, so they’re already acclimated to the conditions in Qatar, something the Danish and French cannot say for any of their players.
Why they’ll be on the first flight home: Similar to Australia, there is a sheer gap between Tunisia and the likes of France and Denmark on the basis of individual quality. There’s simply not enough difference makers that can break a game open from anywhere on the park and if they are to operate with defensive tactics, there’s only so long they can keep the likes of Mbappe or Eriksen at bay knowing that they will come in waves.
