World Cup 2022 Group D: France should progress but watch out for Denmark

World Cup 2022 Group D may have a familiar feel to it with three teams who also met at the group stage in 2018.

Which teams are in Group D at the World Cup?

Group D of the 2022 World Cup contains France, Denmark, Tunisia and Australia. It promises to be a competitive group, though the two European sides will start as favourites to progress. 

Remarkably, this pool is a virtual replica of Group C from the 2018 World Cup. Tunisia, though are swapped in for Peru, who finished third in that Russian pool. 

Matches in Group D will take place from the second day of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 22 November, and will conclude 30 November. Each of the top two teams will progress to the knockout stages of the tournament, with the other two nations eliminated. 

Les Bleus will be the team to beat as they arrive in Qatar as the defending champions following their 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final in Russia four years ago. 

Denmark, meanwhile, have won through the group stages in four of their previous five finals meetings, while Tunisia have been knocked out at this round in their five appearances. Australia have fared a little better, having reached the last 16 in 2006. Like Denmark and Tunisia, this will be their fifth finals appearance.

Group D World Cup fixtures

22 November, 1pm: Denmark vs Tunisia (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)
22 November, 4pm: France vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)
26 November, 10am: Tunisia vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)
26 November, 7pm: France vs Denmark (Stadium 974, Doha)
30 November, 7pm: Australia vs Denmark (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)
30 November, 7pm: Tunisia vs France (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)

France: FIFA Ranking, Squad, Fixtures 

France are third on the FIFA Ranking, despite having won the 2018 World Cup, making them defending champions ahead of this competition. Despite their array of talented players, it was only six years ago that they were lingering outside the top 20 of the FIFA Ranking, with a run to the final of Euro 2016 the start of a sustained period of success. 

A poor run in the Nations League in June has seen doubts raised over head coach Didier Deschamps’ ability to get the most from his team at another major tournament, particularly after their disappointing display at Euro 2020, where they exited in the last-16 stage against Switzerland after promising so much in their opening match against Germany.

France World Cup squad is yet to be announced. Deschamps has generally stuck by his favoured players over his long reign, though he showed by recalling Karim Benzema prior to Euro 2020 that he can still throw in the odd shock or two. With matches in Europe’s leading leagues to be played barely a week before Frances’s opening fixture, he will have to be flexible with his team. 

The latest date that France’s World Cup squad, which will comprise of 23 players, can be named is 20 October, 2022.   

France’s World Cup 2022 fixtures

22 November, 4pm: France vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)
26 November, 7pm: France vs Denmark (Stadium 974, Doha)
30 November, 7pm: Tunisia vs France (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)

Australia: FIFA Ranking, qualifying, squad 

Australia’s FIFA Ranking is 42, with head coach Graham Arnold’s side just the fourth-ranked side from the AFC confederation. The Socceroos are a side with extensive recent experience in the World Cup finals in recent years, having made every tournament since 2006. They have found themselves out of their depth at this level, though, losing five of their last six fixtures.

The World Cup qualifying journey for Australia proved to be a thrilling one. It culminated in a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Peru in Qatar, with goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne earning fame by coming off the bench to make two decisive saves.

Prior to that, they had topped a group containing Kuwait, Jordan, Nepal and Chinese Taipei with a perfect eight wins. In the third round, they finished well behind Saudi Arabia and Japan in a six-team pool, forcing them to playoff against the UAE in Qatar, for the right to tackle Peru, a fixture they won 2-1. 

Australia’s World Cup squad possesses few big stars. Perhaps the best-known names will be Maty Ryan, who is now with Real Sociedad in Spain, Aaron Mooy, formerly of Brighton but now playing in China, Celtic’s Tom Rogic and Stoke’s Scotland-born defender Harry Souttar, who has six international goals in 10 games.

Australia’s World Cup 2022 fixtures

22 November, 4pm: France vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)
26 November, 10am: Tunisia vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)
30 November, 7pm: Australia vs Denmark (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)

Denmark reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020, and finished unbeaten in Russia in 2018

Denmark: FIFA Ranking, qualifying, squad

Denmark are 11 on the FIFA Ranking, showing that they are not a side to be underestimated. Indeed, they are arguably the most underrated international team in the game presently, having reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and shown a remarkable level of consistency stretching back to 2016.

They did not lose a game at World Cup 2018, drawing with France in the group stage before going out on penalties to runners-up Croatia. Their highest FIFA Ranking in history is 3, while their average is 19.

Denmark’s World Cup qualification was achieved in impressive style in Group F, which contained Scotland, Israel, Austria, Faroe Islands and Moldova. They won nine out of their 10 matches, with a 2-0 defeat away to second-placed Scotland their only qualifying slip.

This is the sixth time that they have qualified for the World Cup finals, with their best run coming in 1998, when they reached the quarter-finals only to lose out to Brazil in a thriller.

Denmark’s World Cup team will largely be drawn from players in the Premier League and Europe’s other major competitions. Captain Simon Kjaer of AC Milan is expected to be fit after serious injury, which would be a major boost, while Christian Eriksen should be available after collapsing during Euro 2020. Wolfsburg forward Jonas Wind is an up-and-coming talent to keep an eye on.

Denmark’s World Cup 2022 fixtures 

22 November, 1pm: Denmark vs Tunisia (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)
26 November, 7pm: France vs Denmark (Stadium 974, Doha)
30 November, 7pm: Australia vs Denmark (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)

Tunisia: FIFA Ranking, qualifying, squad 

Tunisia are No.35 on the FIFA Ranking, which is one spot above their average position, but they have also dropped out of the top 30 this year for the first time since 2018. There are four other African nations higher on FIFA’s Ranking than the Tunisians: Senegal, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt. Prior to the Russia World Cup, they were as high as 14.

This is their sixth visit to the World Cup but they have never been beyond the group stage. Although they picked up a victory in Russia 2018, that was mere consolation as they were already eliminated by the time they defeated Panama 2-1. Nevertheless, they gave England a scare, with a stoppage-time goal from Harry Kane consigning them to defeat in their opener. 

Tunisia’s World Cup qualifying campaign began in September 2021 and saw them ease through Group B of the second round. Equatorial Guinea gave them a brief scare while Zambia and Mauritania were also seen off. They then beat Mali 1-0 in a playoff over two legs, with an own goal sending them to Qatar 2022.

Tunisia World Cup team will lack players at the top level of European football, with the exception of Manchester United’s exciting teenager Hannibal Mejbri. Nevertheless, with a squad drawn largely from across the Arab world, the testing Qatar climate is something they should be well accustomed to and could play in their favour. 

Tunisia’s World Cup 2022 fixtures

22 November, 1pm: Denmark vs Tunisia (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan)
26 November, 10am: Tunisia vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah)
30 November, 7pm: Tunisia vs France (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan) 

Verdict

France should find their stride after their Nations League issues in June to take first spot. If Denmark can acclimatise to the conditions, expect them to comfortably take second, but Tunisia could pose a threat, particularly if they get points on the board in their opening match. Australia are unlikely to be in the running, although the experience of playing two elimination games in Qatar in June does give them some edge.