Australia took advantage of what they had, won 1-0 and revived the French group

For one head, barely. She had nothing else (nor did she need anything else) Australia beat Tunisia 1-0, in a match with more emotion than a good game, but which adds unexpected drama to the French group, where the world champion flourishes and now there are three teams fighting to win the second ticket in this World Cup in Qatar 2022. At the Al Yanub Stadium, the kangaroos made it clear on Saturday morning that they want that ticket.

In the previous one, the meeting between the two teams didn’t raise the temperature. They are two teams with limited technical resources, which on paper seemed to be the candidates to leave group D once the first phase is over. But Tunisia’s draw against Denmark in the first round changed the landscape and now the possibility of dreaming of a passage to the round of 16 loomed on the horizon.

That possibility, which Tunisia has opened up, Australia took advantage of this. Because from the very beginning he handcuffed his rival, took him off axis. All the good that he had shown the Danes has remained there. Tunisia failed to repeat the good defense. Australia pressed, caused an error in the baseline through Craig Goodwin and dominated the game. Was it dangerous? Nothing. But he had a ball and he took advantage of it. That was the difference.

Mitchell Duke recovered quickly in midfield, unloaded left for McGree and flew into the box. Goodwin shot to center, which deflected onto one leg so fortunately that it was adjusted just enough so that Duke had to brush the back of his head and dislodge the keeper. A curiosity about the scorer of the match: he plays for Fagiano Okayama, in the Second Division of Japan. He is the first promotion player to score a goal in this cup.

It was 23 minutes into the match and the cards from the previous one had already been burned.

Tunisia has just entered the game in the last minutes of the first half. He took advantage of the fact that the Aussies retreated onto the field and occupied that space. So he had two clear plays. Ball from the side for Youssef Msakni, who holds, unloads on the right and Dragger fails to finish. The North African forward had one more, which went wide of the post. In closing, Tunisia closes the first half with more arrivals at the opponent’s goal.

The start of the complement saw the Africans forced to be the stars of the match and an Australia set up to play against. At the wheel was Naim Sliti, the admitted Ferjani Sassi brought some clarity but it wasn’t enough. Tunisia found a block in defender Harry Souttar, who ended up being the figure on the pitch. Behind him, goalkeeper Matthew Ryan was sure of the balls passing by.. Together they were the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

The socceroos stops on the break had a chance to extend the score, where Mathew Leckie failed to connect. The minutes passed and Tunisia has entered the field of impotence. His people, who stormed the stadium and cheered at every moment, saw an unbeatable opportunity as he left.

With the match over and Denmark and France waiting to cross, the group is now open and it is Australia who have the chance to strike in this World Cup of surprises. They will face the Danes, knowing that a good result gives them a ticket to the round of 16. They will have to improve, but one thing is clear: the kangaroos want to make the leap in quality.