But Tunisia presented themselves snappy and defensively solid. Denmark, meanwhile, is already under a bit of pressure in the duel between the group favorites and France on Saturday. The world champion was challenged against Australia on Tuesday evening.
The ranks in Al Rayyan, which were mostly populated by Tunisian supporters, were divided in their sympathies. After a few seconds, Tunisia’s Aissa Laidouni sent a tackle against Denmark’s star player Christian Eriksen, which not only resonated acoustically. Denmark found it difficult to get into the game, with brisk attacks the Tunisians often defused Danish Dynamite at the beginning of a combination.
Denmark’s striker Kasper Dolberg and Andreas Skov Olsen were mostly unsubscribed. The first dangerous shots belonged to the North Africans, who mostly played with players from smaller European clubs. It was not until the 23rd minute that Joachim Andersen fired the first, harmless long-range shot at Tunisia’s goalie Aymen Dahmen.
Jebali forgave the lead
Instead, Tunisia’s approach – physicality and focused attacks – almost worked. The forward Issam Jebali, who was present, escaped the Danish defense and also scored past Kasper Schmeichel, but he started from an offside position. The last top chance before the break smelled suspiciously offside when Schmeichel successfully extended his arm to Jebali’s lob.
The EM semi-finalist in 2021 lost his stabilizer in midfield practically at the break whistle. Thomas Delaney repeatedly touched his knee before being substituted. Tunisia, who are hoping for a place in the round of 16 for the first time in their sixth appearance at the World Cup, repeatedly posed problems for the Danes with playfully appealing combinations, but above all in the switching game – for example in the 51st minute when Laidouni lost his strength after a long solo.
Leading Danes
This continued to apply to his colleagues as well. Denmark had much more of the ball, but rarely found decisive gaps against the now more cautious opponent. Coach Kasper Hjulmand reacted after an hour with the triple change and was almost able to celebrate shortly afterwards. But Dahmen defused a powerful shot from Eriksen from the edge of the penalty area.
In the following corner kick, Andreas Christensen’s header hit the inside post (69′). The Danes remained decisive, but never took the last risk. The one special moment to win the match was no longer available for either team in the finish.
Source: Nachrichten
