Doha: The last matchday of the group stage from Group D was nothing but one exhilarating roller-coaster. Ahead of the match, France and Australia led the points table with 6 and 3 points respectively. Denmark and Tunisia shared a single point.
The ramifications for Australia to go through were a win or a draw. The latter came with conditions. The win ensured the Australian uproar and also gargled the dark horse, Denmark. The match remained goalless in the entire first half.
The French did not put any effort into the match. They benched their star players ahead of the knockouts. The French started without the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Oliver Giroud, and Hugo Lloris. However, an upset didn’t feature in the cards owing to the depth the French team possesses. The Tunisians took lead of the game in the 58th minute after a goalless first half. The goal ensured the Tunisians the knockouts as Australia still lacked a goal.
The Tunisians tears of joy didn’t last very long. The Australia vs Denmark started on a same note, no goals till the half time. The Socceroos put one in the net at the 60th minute. Melbourne City FC forward Matthew leckle slotted the ball past the Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The Australians now tied France on number of points and led Tunisia by two. After the goal, the Aussies played a wonderful defence to keep up the victory. Tunisia pushed for more goals but the French defence didn’t budge. However, the Blues couldn’t score no matter how much they tried despite star players being called in.
At the end of both the games, France lead the group. The Soceroos trailed them with equal points but worse goal difference. The last two spots went to Tunisia and Denmark respectively. As table toppers, France meets Group C runners up and Denmark faces the toppers of C. Both France and Australia will take the immense rest as they prep for the key clash on Sunday.
