Denmark's Christian Eriksen is pursued by Tunisia's Yassine Meriah. Pic: Abdul Basit
A spirited Tunisia team held much-fancied Denmark outfit to a 0-0 draw in their opening Group D fixture of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at the Education City Stadium yesterday.
Perhaps buoyed by Saudi Arabia’s earlier 2-1 shocking win over title favourites Argentina, the North African side got into a fast-paced game of football from the opening whistle and were dictating terms mostly in the first half. The Carthage Eagles were egged on by their boisterous supporters in red who clearly outnumbered the Danish supporters in a crowd of 42,925.
Tunisia came close to scoring early in the first half.
Their forward Issam Jebali who plays in the Danish league failed to beat Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel in close range.
Another chance went begging when their mercurial midfielder Aissa Laidouni, who until then was the livewire on the field keeping the fans on the edge of their seats with his attacking play coupled with showy celebrations, failed to fire in time close to Denmark’s penalty area.
Tunisia’s forward Issam Jebali (front) fights for the ball with Denmark’s defender Simon Kjaer during their match at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, yesterday. AFP
Jebali also had a goal ruled out for offside in the 23rd minute.
Denmark’s midfielder Thomas Delaney went off in the first half having suffered a knee injury.
Coach Kasper Hjulmand seemed to have given a pep talk to the Danes as they came out in the second half firing from all cylinders.
Denmark had a goal ruled out when Andreas Skov Olsen found the bottom corner 10 minutes after the break. Their talisman Christian Eriksen fired a left-foot shot only to be saved by the brilliance of Tunisian shot-stopper Aymen Dahmen in the 69th minute.
The Danes created another scoring opportunity from the resulting corner but substitute Andreas Cornelius hit the post with a header.
Tunisia’s firm defence was on display in the second half as Denmark tried hard to score and keep their fame intact. Denmark also had an appeal for a penalty turned down by the Mexican referee Cesar Arturo Ramos in the stoppage time after a VAR screen check.
After the match Hjulmand said Denmark were “never calm and comfortable” initially and played under par.
Tunisia's Mohamed Dräger (centre) and Denmark's Joakim Maehle (right) in action. PIC: Abdul Basit
“We played too nervously and too slow, and we didn’t find ourselves in the first half Hjulmand told the Danish broadcasting corporation.
“There was a period when we got into it but we were never calm and comfortable, that came later in the game. There’s no doubt we played under par.
“It (qualifying from the group) has become complicated but it’s not over. We are underway with the tournament, but our heads would have been a little higher with a better result.”
“It was important to come into the game with a lot of determination,” Tunisia’s Laidouni said.
“This is the World Cup, it’s the most important competition in the world.
“The fans in Qatar are amazing and it was important to show them that we are determined and we want to give everything.”
Tunisia, ranked 30th in the world, would have gone to bed satisfied having earned a point against a team ranked 10th in the world.
In their Group D ties Tunisia will meet Australia, while Denmark face France on Saturday.
