He’s dynamic, he’s dazzling, he’s our Denmark specialist and Nick Ames was in the Education City Stadium to see that rather exciting 0-0 draw.
Peter Steele writes in: “Re: Bogdan’s observation. Worth noting the Europeans are still unbeaten. Saudi, Tunisia and Ecuador all looked good. But Iran, Qatar and Argentina have all looked pretty poor. Senegal were OK with a Mané shaped hole up front.”
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We had *only* eight minutes added on in this match. Fergie-time has become Fifa-time.
The reason, Fifa has confirmed, is down to a new directive to ensure that all “unnatural lost time” is added on at the end of each half. In Qatar it has asked officials to more accurately monitor when a game is stopped for goal celebrations, time wasting, video assistant referee decisions, substitutions, penalties and red cards – even if it means extending a match by many minutes.
As we await the match report, some armband news.
Germany’s pre-match presser just got a tick more interesting after BILD broke the news that the DFB are looking into suing FIFA re the armband.
— Jonathan Harding (@JonBloggs66) November 22, 2022
Flick and Kimmich will likely have to face more than just questions about the game tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/ra8NtKRkbn
Bogdan Kotarlic gets in touch: “Saudi Arabia won earlier today, Tunisia held out for a draw against a very good Danish team, it seems to me that the non-European teams playing here in Qatar have improved in the last few years? Or maybe it is the case of few good performances and later these teams will be well beaten by the Europeans?”
On that non-penalty, from my esteemed colleague Philip Cornwall: “I think the no penalty call was not because of the handball, but because of a Denmark playing shoving a Tunisian beforehand. That’s why it restarted with a Tunisia free-kick. Jensen shoves someone over with an arm in the back. The No 11, before the ball comes in: Taha Khenissi. Why else restart with a Tunisia free-kick?”
On ITV, rentaref Peter Walton is rattling on about it not being a handball. He’ll probably change his opinion later to suit events, as is his way.
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Full-time: Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
A result that will not resound as globally as Saudi Arabia beating Argentina but Tunisia celebrated that with gusto. They deserved their point, giving their all, and not without danger on the attack. Denmark lacked a cutting edge and were put off their stride, they were also denied a penalty late on, a couple, in fact. Instead, VAR’s screen of doom was shown short shrift by the Mexican referee, and Tunisia got the point they deserve. That lived up to the description of an entertaining goalless draw.
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90+8 min: Yeah, he’s dragging this one out but more clumsiness from Cornelius results in a Tunisia free-kick. Surely that’s it, and it is. A famous draw, a point well won by Tunisia.
90+6 min: Tunisia clinging on now, this would be a famous, and deserved, point, they will have at least one more corner to come. Eriksen will take, and the Tunisian keeper claims. Well done, him.
VAR called into action - Denmark penalty denied!
90+4 min: Hang on…what’s this? VAR called into action. The handball that took place ages ago is seen on screen, a penalty looks likely, and then the ref goes to the screen and waves it away. Told you he was no fan of VAR. Unprecedented scenes. César Arturo Ramos, for it is he, you old renegade, you.
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90+2 min: Getting scrappy now, and Dahmen slides to try and prevent a corner, but can’t do it. Cornelius had got the ball stuck under his feet. There’s an appeal for handball from the Danes. Again, no VAR called in.
90 min: Laidouni got hugs from all the Tunisia staff, for one hell of a shift.
Only five minutes added on. Fifa robbing us of bonus soccer when there’s been a load of subs this half, is it?
88 min: Chance for a break as Damsgaard gets the ball but Cornelius is cumbersome and knocked over. Tunisia make another chance., two of them. Drager and Laidouni, who has looked tired since his solo run, go off, and Sassi and Kechrida off.
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86 min: Booking for Khenissi, who wallops into Jensen.
84 min: Hannibal takes ball and man – Maehle – out at the touchline. There is nothing doing but that one looked close. The referee, who doesn’t seem to like VAR much, shows utter disinterest.
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83 min: Jensen has to hurry the ball back to Schmeichel as Hannibal gives chase.
80 min: Big cheers from the Tunisian fans – feels like the home fans – for a double substitution. Off go the two older strikers in Jebali and Msakani, for Hannibal, and Taha Yassine Khenissi.
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79 min: Tunisia look tired, and so do Denmark. And there’s probably 20 minutes to play yet if the referee follows the Fifa doctrine.
77 min: Cornelius and the high ball seems to be the new tactic for Denmark. If it can work for Kieffer Moore and Wales then why not? Jensen is booked for a foul on a speeding Sliti.
75 min: Cornelius holds up the ball down a channel but can’t find a colleague. Jensen ducks and weaves but then can’t get his shot on target. Hannibal, the Manchester United kid, may be imminent soon. The Tunisian crowd seems to hope so.
73 min: Kasper Hjulmand looks annoyed on the bench. This has been a decent match but must be frustrating to be involved in.
71 min: Tunisia want a penalty, the ball came off the naturally positioned hand of Andersen. He was close so no penalty. VAR did not have a look, the ref waved it away. Lengthy protests. A replay of the Cornelius incident: he had to score…but didn’t.
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70 min: The corner causes chaos, Christensen heads across and the ball is heading over the line, it just needs Cornelius to tap in, and he fails to do so.
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69 min: Those changes are taking a while to percolate, the game a bit shapeless, and Eriksen, coming into the middle, gets the chance to shoot from the edge of the box. Dahmen makes a fine save.
67 min: Tunisia sub: Slimane off, and Naïm Sliti comes on.
65 min: Here it comes. Kjaer off, and he hands the armband to Jensen of Brentford. Cardiff legend Cornelius on, for Dolberg. Lindstrom, a Europa League winner with Eintracht, on for Skov Olsen. And with it comes a rejig, perhaps three at the back and a flooding of defence.
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63 min: It appears a triple Denmark change is in the offing.
61 min: Ball headed behind for a Denmark corner. Eriksen skids the ball at Andersen but Tunisia clear.
59 min: Tunisia aren’t done, and they try and mount an attack, their fans roaring every pass. The rarely spotted “Olé” at 0-0.
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57 min: Maehle shows his skill, making space for Damsgaard to whip in the ball from the flank. Dahmen in the Tunisia goal flaps, and it’s beginning to look like Denmark can see a way through. Dolberg’s flick was there for the taking but Skov Olsen fails to read the ball’s flight.
55 min: Denmark get the ball in the net after a lengthy ricochet session, Skov Olsen slots in, but there’s an offside on the play.
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54 min: Yann Dury is back with that Forest contingent in full(ish):
Squad players:
- Bren Johnson (Wales)
- Neco Williams (Wales)
- Wayne Hennessey (Wales)
- Freuler (Switzerland)
- Kouyate (Senegal)
Loaned players:
- Laryea (Toronto / Canada)
- Drager (Dunno / Tunisia)
- Aguilera (Dunno / Not that one / Costa Rica)
- Hwang Ui-jo (Olymiakos / South Korea)
- Horvath (Luton / USA!!)
53 min: Bronn, the centre-back, has a shot, and deflected behind. What a wall of noise. Slimane’s corner is cleared.
51 min: Damsgaard is on the field to add extra creativity and ball-carrying, but he is surrounded by Tunisian defenders, whose line is held. And then the ball breaks for Laidouni, who is away, but not confident in himself, or his own energy. Then Draeger smashes over. Laidouni is bent double in exhaustion after that run. Not even the energy of the crowd can stop him feeling fatigued.
49 min: The Tunisian defence remains strong, and it feels like something special is going to be required.
47 min: Denmark immediately concede a corner, as Tunisia go again at the B of the Bang. It’s cleared but the time when Denmark must pick off their opponents draws closer. At the moment, they are still being swarmed all over.
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46 min: And we’re back…can the Tunisians keep it up?
Some emails.
Kári Tulinius: “I’m surprised how lacking in imagination the Danes have been. A team of that quality shouldn’t be sending speculative crosses in from deep in the first half. I imagine Jalel Kadri must be pretty happy with the way the match is going.”
Gregory Phillips: “All the focus on the players backing down has made us momentarily forget the point, I think, which is that FIFA is the villain here. Infantino is a joke, except he isn’t funny. Not intentionally, anyway, and even the unintentionally farcical nature of his “management” of this event is hard to laugh at given how many people have suffered. Sorry, I might just be annoyed that someone just scheduled a meeting with me during Mexico-Poland. What is wrong with people?”
Yann Dury: “Five from the PL squad and a further five who are out on loan. Five of them were on team sheets yesterday (for three teams in two of the matches).”
Name them…
Have some half-time Squires.
Half-time: Denmark 0-0 Tunisia
That’s been a decent half, full of Tunisian energy, and Denmark frustrated. It took a Kasper Schmeichel save to keep it level at the break. The Danes will feel the bruises, and be deafened by the noise from the North African fans.
45+4 min: We get some added time, of course. But that’s it for the first half.
45+3 min: Denmark have a free-kick in a decent, inside-right position, Eriksen territory. It zips in, and Meriah, one of the Tunisian towers, heads behind.
45+1 min: We had just four minutes added on, which feels like a tournament low. Delaney is being iced up on the sidelines.
45 min: Jembali shoves over Andersen, and somehow escapes a booking. It looks like Thomas Delaney will be going off. His day is done, and on comes Mikkel Damsgaard, of Brentford, though who hasn’t made much of an impact in west London just yet. Delaney looked to be holding his hamstring. Uh oh.
43 min: So close! Looked like the one. Jembali was through, and Schmeichel, in a one-on-one, somehow smothers a ball heading for goal. That reminded very much of his father’s starfish...it was a brilliant save, genetics in action.
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41 min: Hjoberg wants a penalty for a foul from, yes, Laidouni. No dice. Thomas Delaney meanwhile has a problem. And gets slowly to his feet.
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39 min: Slimane takes a corner for Tunisia, after plenty of jostling, and it falls to that man Laidouni, who sees glory and crashes it just wide. He’s been excellent, the Ferencvaros player.
Here’s our profile from our interactive.
The warrior in Tunisia’s midfield. Laïdouni embodies Tunisian “grinta” – grit and determination. A combative box-to-box runner, formidable in the tackle, he arrives in Qatar tipped to be his nation’s breakout star this winter. It is clear that his days in Hungary are numbered, with major European clubs tracking his progress. He has spoken previously of his ambition to make the step up: “I really like England and Germany. These are really two championships that make me excited … I just have to give the best of myself in each match: I always try to move forward. But there are no givens in football. That’s why you should never stop working, surpassing yourself. That’s my focus: I have to continue this momentum.”
37 min: Laidouni, who has been the player of the game so far, attempts to thread a pass through. Tunisia have been close on a couple of occasions when looking to supply the final ball.
35 min: Denmark now dominating possession. Tunisia coiling ever backwards.
33 min: Tunisia’s danger lies on the counter. Denmark are still trying to play their way through but they at last have a shot on goal. It’s Hojbjerg who hits it, but the Tunisian keeper, Aymen Dahmen, has no problems saving it.
31 min: Kjaer launches it at Skov Olsen, who takes the ball down, and is then crowded out. Eriksen’s corner causes trouble but Tunisia are good in the air, and throwing themselves at everything that comes their way.
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29 min: Delaney’s burst causes problems for the Tunisians, who hurriedly clear. The Danes are being hurried along in their attempts to attack, too. Tunisia’s energy levels have been high.
27 min: It’s opened up, at last. Skov Olsen perhaps could have got closer to a Maehle ball, and that man Laidouni cleans up at the back.
25 min: Laidouni, ever lively, ever involved, buys a fouls from Rasmus Christensen, and gets the Dane booked via his theatrical skills. He also bounces up to his feet soon after.
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23 min: Tunisia get the ball in the net. Slimane escapes, holds off two defenders and slots, but he was offside. The flag was late, very late. No goal. And it looked offside some seconds before.
22 min: Denmark win a free-kick in dangerous position. Eriksen takes, and the ball zips across the box, begging to be knocked in. Skhiri – in mask – clears. He plies his trade for Köln.
21 min: Eriksen’s corner comes in, Andersen heads down and Tunisia clear. That’s the most danger so far from Denmark.
20 min: Yes, we are somewhat short of goalmouth action at both ends. The Tunisian defence has been all powerful, though Maehle escapes down the flank, and Abdi has to clear behind.
17 min: Tunisia continue to be in the ascendancy, if not yet to warm the hands of Kasper Schmeichel, who has had a mixed time in Nice, it has to be said. And Leicester have missed him, too.
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15 min: The noise and the singing from the Tunisian fans is all-encompassing. Hugh Molloy gets in touch from the actual Education City Stadium: “I’m at the game as a neutral and 99% of the noise is Tunisian. They are pumped!”
So does Lars Fink, back home, I think. “Two Tunisian players in the starting line-up are playing in the Danish Superligaen. Slimane for Brøndby – and Jebali for OB (Odense Boldklub)…That is BTW as many players from Superligaen in the Tunisian squad as in the Danish (Daniel Wass, Brøndby and Andreas Cornelius FC København/ FC Copenhagen).”
Great colour, chaps. Thanks for writing in.
13 min: Denmark look a little rattled, it must be said.
11 min: Tell you what, that was close. Mohamed Drager, of Nottingham Forest no less (loaned to Luzern), shoots, and the ball spins off Christensen and behind. Tunisia fancy this. There’s probably a few random Forest players floating around this tournament.
10 min: Denmark attempt a couple of long balls. They aren’t successful. Patience may be a virtue here. For those of us watching, too. The chances of a World Cup classic appear to be dwindling fast.
8 min: Denmark are staying calm in possession. As calm as they can be. Tunisia are set to destroy.
6 min: Been an intriguing tactical battle so far, as they say. Denmark with most of the possession, Tunisia holding their line well, and closing down everything. Laidouni seems to be leading the press and loses his boot in launching his latest reducer.
3 min: Boos and hisses for the Danes. This game has atmos, something lacking in a couple of matches so far, but not here. This feels like a home game for Tunisia, and Denmark’s first job is to quieten the crowd. Good luck with that.
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1 min: Away we go, and Denmark force a corner. Eriksen takes and when it’s cleared, the Tunisian fans roar. They also love it when Eriksen, picking up the loose ball, is tackled by a sliding Laidouni, who celebrates in the manner a linebacker enjoys a quarterback being sacked.
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Two very loud anthems done, and we are soon to kick off.
The Danish fans are making a raucous old noise, and their red colours proliferate in the Education City Stadium, though Tunisia have brought many more. I sat with their fans during their team’s game with Saudi Arabia in 2006 in Munich and they were very loud, very passionate.
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This match has a little bit to live up to. A World Cup classic took place this morning.
The armband farrago – and embargo – continues.
FIFA reportedly threatened the Danish FA with a one-game suspension for Simon Kjær if he played with the 'OneLove' armband 🚨#ForDanmark #FIFAWorldCup https://t.co/PYTGXDneTz pic.twitter.com/DXGOVmxMOP
— Danish Football (@DanishFooty365) November 22, 2022
Kasper Dolberg starts, having not scored since joining Sevilla on loan. Tunisia make four changes from the team that lost 5-1 to Brazil in their final pre-World Cup friendly, with Danish-based players Anis Ben Slimane and Issam Jebali both in the starting line-up, with Wahbi Khazri is on the bench.
Simon Kjaer, who captains the Danes today, was The Guardian’s 2021 Footballer Of The Year. He spoke to Nick Ames, our expert on this rather likeable team.
The starting teams
Denmark: Kasper Schmeichel, Joakim Andersen, Simon Kjaer (c), Andreas Christensen, Joakim Maehle, Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg, Thomas Delaney, Christian Eriksen, Andreas Skov Olsen, Kasper Dolberg, Rasmus Kristensen
Tunisia: Aymen Dahmen, Ali Abdi, Montassar Talbi, Yassine Meriah, Dylan Bronn, Mohamed Draeger, Aissa Laidouni, Ellyes Skhiri, Anis Ben Slimane, Youssef Msakni (c), Issam Jembali
Nick Ames spent time in Doha in the Denmark camp, and reminds us of the formula for their recent successes.
Eriksen’s addition to the unit that, without his peerless ingenuity, captured so many imaginations should help tilt the numbers favourably. The team looks nicely balanced, with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Thomas Delaney to either side of him in midfield while Simon Kjær, feted for his reaction to Eriksen’s collapse, has returned from long-term injury to anchor the defence. Atalanta’s Joakim Mæhle will bomb on from left-back while Mikkel Damsgaard and Kasper Dolberg remain bright sparks in attack.
Kasper Hjulmand, the Denmark coach, also spoke ahead of this game. He was asked – of course – about Christian Eriksen.
After he came back, it’s been unbelievable. The second he stepped into the pitch for the first time in Amsterdam, playing against Holland, he just took control of the match and scored, and since then, he’s just been better and better. He is the rhythm, he is the heart of our team, the pulse of our play. He’s a tremendous football player.
The Tunisian coach, Jalel Kadri, spoke ahead of this match. A reminder: Tunisia have never got beyond the group stage of a World Cup.
Our group will not be easy, the draw has not been kind. Denmark is among the best squads in Europe. We know they have high quality in every department. But we will give our all. We have our strengths, but we also know our weaknesses. We are aware we will be compared to past Tunisia squads.
Tunisia have two players in the Danish league, Anis Ben Slimane at Brondby and Issam Jebali with Odense.
Martin Braithwaite, Denmark’s former Barcelona now Espanyol striker whose name reminds you of the lad whose parents ran the grocers, spoke to Sid Lowe.
Asked whether the cardiac arrest that Christian Eriksen suffered played a part in changing the team, Braithwaite says: “It changed each individual, more than just the group: it was beyond football.” There’s a prolonged pause, his tone quiet when he eventually starts up again. “Life passes by so fast, you need to enjoy every moment. We went through it together, will always share that feeling. It’s kind of a fairytale now that we’re at the World Cup and Christian part of the team. No one could imagine that.”
Preamble
We Premier League viewers are used to seeing him back playing but Christian Eriksen’s return to a major tournament stage is surely a moment. It was less than 18 months ago that his collapse and cardiac arrest brought Euro 2020 to a halt, and his return to top-level football is one of the game’s good news stories. And he is a member of a rather handy Denmark team, one that did just fine without him, becoming one of Europe’s best. They won nine of 10 qualifying games for this tournament, scoring 30 and conceding three, and reached the Nations League semis.
Eriksen’s supporting cast, who reached Euros semis without him, is full of quality, from Kasper Schmeichel to Kasper Dolberg. And they are a team who have shown a humanitarian edge, Hummel removed from their shirt, training in black, and it remains to seen if there is a gesture of the type Fifa is threatening sanctions on.
Their opponents? Tunisia are in their sixth World Cup finals, and have ambitions to reach the knockouts. With a number of their players playing in Qatar, they should be acclimatised to the surroundings, and will make it tough for the Danes with the defensive formation that Jalel Kadri usually selects for decent opposition. Youssef Msakni is their key man though Sunderland legend Wahbi Khazri and Manchester United loanee Hannibal Mejbri may make appearances.
Kick-off is 1pm UK time at the Education City Stadium
Join me.
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