2022 World Cup: Tunisia hold Denmark; Mexico, Poland ends in a draw as Lewandowski misses penalty
Tunisia held Denmark to a goalless draw in their World Cup opener on Tuesday, kicking off their Group D campaign with a strong performance against one of the dark horses in the tournament.
Since Kadri took charge of the team in January Tunisia have only lost to Brazil and they frustrated Denmark in front of thousands of lively North Africans.
Christian Eriksen was largely anonymous on his return to major tournament football after nearly dying on the pitch at the European Championship last year, wilting in the face of ferocious defending.
The African side nearly took the lead in the 11th minute, with Mohamed Drager’s long-range effort clipping off Andreas Christensen and drifting just wide.
The Danes began to get a foothold in the game but talisman Eriksen struggled to shake off the attentions of Tunisia’s well-organised backline, and although they got into dangerous positions any attacks were comfortably snuffed out.
The Tunisians came closest to taking the lead in the opening period, Copenhagen-born Anis Ben Slimane straying offside before slotting past Kasper Schmeichel, who then made sure the scores were level at the break with a wonderful stop.
Issam Jebali managed to break through onto Youssef Msakni’s smart pass but his dinked finish was brilliantly tipped away by the onrushing Schmeichel.
Tunisia kept up the intensity but it was Denmark who had the two best chances of a tight second half.
Eriksen was denied what would have been a fine goal by Aymen Dahmen’s fingertip save in the 69th minute and from the subsequent corner substitute Andreas Cornelius somehow headed onto the post from close range.
That would have probably won the match for Denmark as Tunisia failed to match their physical efforts with much real creativity.
After surviving a late penalty scare they celebrated a precious and unexpected point with their passionate supporters.
The story was not different as Robert Lewandowski missed a penalty with Poland and Mexico playing out a goalless draw in Group C at Stadium 964, Doha.
The 34-year-old was denied from the spot by Mexico’s 37-year-old captain Guillermo Ochoa just shy of the hour-mark and it was the talking point of a game largely starved of drama. With three precious points up for grabs and an opportunity to take control of the group after Argentina were stunned by Saudi Arabia earlier on Tuesday, it proved to be a cagey affair.
In the first half, Poland played with an incredibly deep defensive line, inviting trouble and while Mexico had the lion’s share of possession and looked livelier in attack, they failed to do enough to trouble Poland’s rear-guard.
Hector Moreno and Alexis Vega were off-target with headed efforts, and just before the break, Jorge Sanchez’s right-footed shot from a tight angle forced an unconvincing save from Wojciech Szczesny, who was looking increasingly nervy in goal.
It was the only shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, with Lewandowski touching the ball just once in the opposition box.
However, the Barcelona talisman was handed a golden opportunity when he won a penalty following a VAR check after being bundled over by Hector Moreno. But there were incredible scenes as Ochoa – appearing in his fifth World Cup – made a quite brilliant save to keep the scores level..
The result means Saudi Arabia end the day top of the group with three points. Mexico are back in action on Saturday when they play Argentina, the same day Poland play Saudia Arabia.
