Denmark vs Tunisia. FIFA World Cup Group D.
Education City StadiumAttendance42,925.
Match report as Denmark left frustrated by Tunisia in opening World Cup Group D match; Christian Eriksen made his major tournament return and was denied fairytale goal; Andreas Cornelius hit the post from a yard with the best chance of the match; both sides had goals ruled out for offside
Wednesday 23 November 2022 08:00, UK
Christian Eriksen made his major tournament return 18 months after suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 – but his Denmark side were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Tunisia in Group D after some late VAR drama.
The Danes, semi-finalists at the European Championships, saw their World Cup begin in stop-start fashion as Eriksen was denied by goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen, while substitute Andreas Cornelius hit the post from a yard with the best chance of the match.
Tunisia impressed with their combative style, particularly in the first half, and saw Issam Jebali's goal ruled out for offside before the striker forced a brilliant save from Kasper Schmeichel.
Denmark had a goal ruled out themselves when Andreas Skov Olsen found the bottom corner 10 minutes after the break and, in injury-time, referee Cesar Ramos did not award a penalty after checking the VAR monitor following a potential handball from Tunisia's Yassine Meriah.
Aissa Laidouni set the tone with a crunching tackle on Eriksen inside two minutes which inspired Tunisia to have the better of the first half. Mohamed Drager's deflected effort went narrowly wide before Jebali raced in behind the Denmark defence and toe-poked past Schmeichel although he was then flagged offside.
Denmark struggled to adapt to Tunisia's aggressive style, but did have a shout for a penalty waved away when Tottenham's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg went down in the area under pressure from Laidouni. The Danes had Schmeichel to thank for going in level at the break when he superbly pushed Jebali's dink behind.
Denmark improved in the second half and saw Skov Olsen find the bottom corner but substitute Mikkel Damsgaard was offside in the build-up. Eriksen was then denied a fairytale goal as 'keeper Dahmen saved his left-footed strike with Cornelius unbelievably heading onto a post from close range at the resultant corner.
Tunisia raced up the other end and saw a penalty shout for handball by Joachim Andersen dismissed with VAR not even checking the incident. They did, however, instruct the referee over to the pitchside monitor in injury-time but he stuck to his original decision to not award a spot kick-for a potential handball by Meriah.
Laidouni epitomised Tunisia's battling performance. He hyped up their fans by thumping his chest after crunching into Eriksen and then delivered an all-action display in the middle of the park.
The midfielder, who plays for Hungarian side Ferencvaros, will be key if Tunisia are to get out of Group D.
"We wanted to win a point at least," Laidouni said. "We didn't come to get a draw. We wanted to get the win, and I think we did have chances for that, but at the end of the day we're happy with the draw."
Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand: "Obviously, we are not satisfied with this, particularly with a big part of the first half and the way we started, but it can be okay if you score at the end of the match.
"You put on the pressure that you want and try to score, but unfortunately we did not ... it's not a matter of the system, it's more our ability to hold on to the ball. We play too slowly, and at times that was the problem.
"We definitely had an aim of winning this one because we know of course a result in this game could have helped us, and now it could be complicated.
"But it's not over and we are still in it, it's one point each and now we have two very great games, and we're looking forward to France."
Tunisia head coach Jalel Kadri: "I thought we would get that penalty given against us and the VAR has every right to intervene.
"But today it was in our favour and this is what football is all about. VAR decisions have to be respected.
"The fan factor was very positive for us. It mentally gave us a great lift and we are looking forward to seeing the fans continue to do that for us. It really helped us in the game, but tactically and physically we did well too."
"We are in strong group and today we have one point. This will give us energy for the next game."
Tunisia and Denmark have a point each in Group D with France top after beating Australia 4-1 on Tuesday evening.
Denmark next face holders France on Saturday, kick-off 4pm, while Tunisia play Australia earlier that day at 10am.
The winners of Group D will face the runner-up from Group C, containing Argentina, Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia. The runner-up in Group D will face the winners of Group C.
