After the group stage of Euro 2020, Denmark was everybody’s second team and the tournament’s greatest surprise.
This was in no little part because of their outstanding accomplishments; despite losing their first two group games, they went on to annihilate Russia and Wales and then get past the Czech Republic to the semi-finals.
In the end, England eliminated Denmark from the tournament in the semifinals, but there was another reason why fans of the opposing team had become fond of the Danes.
Those in attendance at Denmark’s opening defeat to Finland in Copenhagen were left praying for the best after seeing the horrifying sights of medical staff attempting to resuscitate Christian Eriksen on the pitch after he had gone out.
Thankfully, Eriksen not only made it through the ordeal unscathed but has also resumed his previous position as one of the game’s elite players. The crowd gave him a standing ovation when he came off the bench to score against the Netherlands in March.
Even while the presence of Manchester United’s midfielder in Qatar will be symbolic and encouraging, head coach Kasper Hjulmand knows well well that their squad will need more than simple optimism to win. As he put it, “I believe we’re in a terrific situation, but you cannot simply rely on feelings and play.” We’ll need top-tier athletes on the field.
My opinion is that we are ready to compete at the highest levels of football because of the quality of play we provide.
However, Denmark was not a fluke; they easily advanced through their World Cup qualification group, winning their first nine matches while conceding no goals in eight of them.
Joakim Maehle, South Africa’s fullback, is a player that Tunisia must keep an eye on. The Atalanta man has more assists than any other player for Denmark at Euro 2020, and his five goals scored in qualifying were matched for the highest by any player with Andreas Skov Olsen. For Denmark’s qualifying team, he scored more goals than anybody else (three – two goals and one assist).
Since the Eagles of Carthage thrive at keeping games tight and preventing the opposition side from playing, Tunisia will be a tough opponent for them to win.
Jalal Kadri was hired as the head coach after a dismal loss in the semifinals to Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations. He started out well, with a 2-0 series victory over Mali that qualified them for Qatar 2022. From there, they won four of their next five games until being blown out 5-1 by Brazil in a friendly match in September.
He sets high standards for himself and has threatened to leave the squad if they fail to reach the knockout round of the 2022 World Cup. Because of the performance-based nature of my remuneration, I will be deemed to have failed if I am unable to advance through the group phase.
In order to make a name for themselves at this World Cup, Tunisia will need to improve upon their prior performances, despite the fact that they will not be an easy side to beat.
Behind only Saudi Arabia (69%; 11 of 16) and Australia (63%; 10 of 16), this is the third-highest percentage for a team that has played at least 15 games in the tournament. Nine of Tunisia’s 15 World Cup matches have been losses or 60%. In a tournament with at least 15 games played, this is the third-highest winning %.
In addition, they have a poor track record against European teams, having lost the most World Cup matches involving more European nations than any other country (D3 L7). Four of their five most recent tournament defeats have come at the hands of European teams (Spain and Ukraine in 2006, England and Belgium in 2018).
Beware Of These Athletes
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, a Dane Spurs’ star has shown himself to be among Europe’s top deep-lying midfielders, and he’ll be the one to provide the energy up the middle to balance off Eriksen’s more refined skill set.
Hojbjerg has tried to pass the ball more than anybody else in the Premier League this season, with only Rodri of Manchester City coming close. Only Pedri (seven), Lionel Messi (six), Mario Gotze (six), Joshua Kimmich (six), Harvey Barnes (five), and Hojbjerg (four) among Europe’s top five leagues have more secondary assists than Hojbjerg (four). Only Manchester City’s Rodri had more pass attempts than Hojbjerg in the Premier League (the pass before the assist).
A. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg Danes against. Tunisians Prediction Mr. Wahbi Khazri of Tunisia The former Sunderland and Saint-Etienne striker will be his country’s main man in major tournaments and will be expected to do well in Qatar.
Every one of Tunisia’s first four World Cup goals came directly from Khazri’s efforts (two goals, two assists). Khazri also contributed to three goals for Tunisia in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year (two goals, one assist).
Wahbi Khazri’s Prediction for Tunisia vs. Denmark Game
Prediction
Hjulmand’s side will be heavy favorites to win the match at Education City Stadium, maybe because to the quality of the Danish national team and Tunisia’s historically poor success in World Cup events.
Statistics Perform’s AI model gives Denmark a 65.0% probability of victory and Tunisia a 13.9% chance.
There is a good chance of a draw (21.1%) given Denmark’s lack of a proven striker and their opponents’ tendency to close out games.
