The 22nd edition of the World Cup is about to start. From November 20, 32 countries will compete in Qatar for the coveted title. The players from the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Brazil are known to the general public, but how are countries like Australia, South Korea and Serbia doing? In this section look football zone per group ahead of the World Cup and in the fourth edition it is Group D’s turn, which includes defending champions France. The other countries in this group are Australia, Denmark and Tunisia.
By: Bart D’Hanis
France
France will start this World Cup as defending champions. In 2018, the country defeated Croatia in the final to take home the cup. Important players at that tournament were Paul Pogba (Juventus), N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea) and Raphaël Varane (Manchester United). The first two will not be part of the French selection anyway due to an injury. Van Varane is not yet sure whether he will be recovered in time. Also for Theo Hernández (AC Milan), Jules Koundé (Barcelona), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) and Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), being fit for the first game at the World Cup is a race against time. Fortunately for Deschamps, he has plenty of alternatives to choose from. Midfielders Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga (both Real Madrid) knock on the door of the French national team. If Benzema is unable to start the first game of the World Cup in the starting lineup, the national coach can choose from names such as Olivier Giroud (AC Milan) and Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig).
The World Cup in Qatar is the sixteenth in history for France. The French won the tournament twice. The first time in 1998 and twenty years later again in 2018. After the World Cup in 2018, France was also present at the European Championship in 2021. This campaign was a lot less successful. In the last sixteen, lesson Bleus sent home on penalties by Switzerland. Also in the Nations League, France was anything but impressive. In the group with Denmark, which will also be an opponent at the World Cup in Qatar, the French even finished third. Besides Denmark, Croatia was also in better shape. During this Nations League campaign, France even lost to Denmark twice. However, qualifying for the World Cup went smoothly. The French became first in the group with Ukraine and Finland, among others, and did not lose once out of eight games. France will play first against Australia in Qatar on November 22. A reunion with fear gegner Denmark is scheduled for November 26. The group will end on November 30 with a match against Tunisia.
Australia
Australia is not really known as a football country. Hence, most of the names in the selection of the Socceroos don’t ring a bell. With an average age of 27.5 years old, Australia’s roster is relatively old. This is partly due to ex-Premier League players Matthew Ryan (FC Copenhagen) and Aaron Mooy (Celtic), who are both already in their thirties. The squad for the World Cup in Qatar has already been announced. Notable name on the list is eighteen-year-old Garang Kuol (Central Coast Mariners). The young striker has only had one international match to his name, but has nevertheless secured a spot on the plane to Qatar. In fact, the teenager is so talented that he will move to England after the World Cup, where he will continue to develop at Newcastle United. Bad news for Australia, however, is the ankle injury of Ajdin Hrustic (Hellas Verona). The former FC Groningen player has so far played twenty international matches for the national team. It is still uncertain whether the midfielder will appear at the kick-off in the first game.
Australia is number 38 in the FIFA rankings. The country is participating in a World Cup in Qatar for the sixth time. This year it is also the fifth time in a row that the Socceroos be present at the world championship. Of those four previous World Cups, only 2006 has survived the group stage. Australia has qualified for the World Cup in a group with Asian countries. The team of national coach Graham Arnold, who was active as a player in the Netherlands for Roda JC and NAC Breda, came third in the group. Japan and Saudi Arabia were a size too big and so Australia had to get the coveted World Cup ticket via a play-off match against Peru. That was eventually achieved through penalties. Australia also played three exhibition games prior to the World Cup. Two against New Zealand and one against Jordan. All three exhibition games were won. Australia will play France on November 22. Tunisia will then be the opponent on November 26. On November 30, the Australians will take on Denmark.
Denmark
Denmark goes as one of the underdogs to the World Cup in Qatar. The Danes have an excellent squad and are not plagued by injuries. In the back, national coach Kasper Hjulmand can have Simon Kjaer (AC Milan), Andreas Christensen (Barcelona) and Joachim Maehle (Atalanta) at his disposal. For midfield, Christian Eriksen (Manchester United) and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) are real options. The goals will have to be scored for the Danes by ex-Ajacied Kasper Dolberg (Seville), Mikkel Damsgaard (Brentford) and Andreas Skov Olsen (Club Brugge). The latter in particular has been in great shape at his club this season. He had six goals and two assists in fourteen games in the league. The young winger also makes a big impression on the national team. He has already scored eight times in just 23 international matches.
Just like Australia, Denmark will participate in a World Cup for the sixth time this year. In 2018 the Danes were also present. Then they were eliminated by Croatia on penalties. The Croats were also the opponent of Denmark in this year’s Nations League. The Danes managed to become first in the group with France, Croatia and Austria. France has even won twice. The fact that Denmark is in good shape is also apparent from the qualifying series for the World Cup. In the group including Scotland, Israel and Austria, the Danes won no less than nine out of ten matches. Denmark also completed two exhibition games this year. The match against the Netherlands was lost 4-2. However, the Danes did win against Serbia: 3-0. Last year, at the European Championships, Denmark managed to surprise friend and foe by reaching the semifinals of the tournament. In the first game against Finland Eriksen collapsed, something that seemed to motivate the Danish team extra. In the semi-finals, however, England were 2-1 too strong. Denmark kicks off its World Cup on November 22 with a game against Tunisia. On November 26, France will be the opponent. The group stage will conclude on November 30 with a game against Australia.
Tunisia
Just like in the Australian selection, there are no very famous names at number thirty in the FIFA world ranking. Omar Rekik (Arsenal), who plays for Sparta Rotterdam on a rental basis, is injured and has to miss the World Cup. Who in all probability will play for Tunisia this World Cup is Wahbi Khazri (Montpellier). The striker scored 24 goals in 74 international matches for Tunisia. Khazri was also accurate twice in Ligue 1. National coach Jalel Kadri will also take nineteen-year-old Hannibal Mejbri (Manchester United) to the World Cup. The talent loaned to Birmingham City was also part of the selection during the last international match and was even allowed to come in twice. Besides Rekik, national coach Kadri has few problems with injuries within his selection.
It is also the sixth time for Tunisia that they can be admired at a World Cup. The previous five times the knockout phase was not reached and the tournament already stranded in the group phase. Tunisia managed to win the qualifying group for the World Cup in Qatar. Tunisia finished first in the group with Equatorial Guinea, Zambia and Mauritania. The ten winners of the groups played against each other in a diptych to divide the five World Cup tickets. In this diptych Tunisia was 0-1 too strong for Mali. Tunisia also played a number of exhibition matches for the World Cup. For example, the Comoros won 1-0 and the Tunisians lost 5-1 against Brazil. Tunisia will play its first game against Denmark on November 22. Australia and France will be the opponents on November 26 and 30, respectively.