With the reigning world champions up against every expert’s pick for dark horses in Group D’s other outing, this was always going to be billed as the battle of its also-rans, in its rightful place as first up and firmly on Saturday’s undercard. But if either Tunisia or Australia could beat the other, they would have a good chunk of the points required to have a shot at a surprise last-16 spot, and would only need a result against their European rivals to sneak in.
Tunisia started the day in the stronger position but, courtesy of Mitch Duke’s deft first-half header, Australia ended it in the ascendancy. Their World Cup 2022 campaign was always likely to come down to this specific game and by just about edging it, Graham Arnold’s side know that a win against Denmark will see a limited but organised group of players emulate 2006’s “golden generation” by reaching the knockout stages.
