Caitlin Dillon
The first group D match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 got underway amidst a raucous atmosphere at Education City Stadium on Tuesday night as Tunisia and Denmark played out the first 0-0 draw of the tournament.
This was the first encounter between Denmark and Tunisia at a World Cup, despite them both being seasoned veterans in the tournament. Their only previous meeting was a friendly 20 years ago in Japan, prior to South Korea’s hosting of the tournament in 2022, where Denmark won 2-1.
Despite fielding many Premier League regulars, pre-tournament favourites Denmark were given a tough battle. Both sides had goals ruled out for offside, while Denmark's Andreas Cornelius missed from a yard out in the 70th minute.
Jalel Kadri’s side started aggressively, with Denmark on the back foot from the outset.
There was soon a hairy moment for Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who was left paralysed as Mohamed Dräger’s shot took a deflection off Andreas Christensen and went just wide.
In the 23rd minute, following a sublime Christian Eriksen free-kick, Issam Jebali fired the ball in the back of the net for Tunisia, but the attempt was ruled out for a clear offside.
Just before half time, Jebali got a shot on target, which Schmiechel leapt into action to save.
In the second half, Denmark had their turn for a disallowed goal, when a well-executed finish from Andreas Skov Olsen was ruled out by the assistant referee.
There was some late drama in the 95th minute when referee Cesar Ramos consulted VAR over a potential Denmark penalty for handball, only to stick with his original decision and award a goal-kick.
When the final whistle was blown, Tunisia celebrated as though they had won the tournament - understanding the enormity of the point they’d fought hard for against Denmark. Meanwhile, the it dawned on the Danes that they will need to find some form if they are to qualify from a group that also includes World Cup holders France.