FIFA World Cup Match Preview: Tunisia v Australia

The Socceroos look to bounce back from defeat against France in their opening game of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ with their second Group D match against Tunisia on Saturday at 9:00pm (AEDT) at the Al Janoub Stadium. 

Australia went down 4-1 to defending champions France in their opening game of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ at the Al Janoub Stadium on Wednesday morning (AEDT). The Green and Gold toiled and took a shock lead through Craig Goodwin but from there it was virtually one-way traffic with France’s undeniable quality evident for all to see.

The Socceroos will now look to regroup ahead of their second group match against Tunisia on Saturday night at the same stadium in Al Wakrah. 

If Australia are to progress from Group D, they will need at least one victory and 30th-ranked Tunisia loom as their most beatable opposition on paper. However, the Tunisians enter the match full of confidence after holding Denmark to a 0-0 draw in their opening FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ match. 

Tunisia defended valiantly and continually threatened the Danes who are ranked 10th in the world with captain Msakni Youssef pulling the strings in midfield. 

The Socceroos have only faced Tunisia on two occasions. The Socceroos first played the North African side in an international friendly in October 1997 and would later encounter each other eight years later at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany.

The first meeting between the two sides saw Australia come away with a 3-0 win at the Stade El Menzah in Tunis courtesy of goals from Aurelio Vidmar,  Mark Viduka and Matthew Bingley while the second match resulted in a 2-0 loss at the FIFA Confederations Cup. 

Much like the Socceroos, Tunisia are making their sixth appearance at the finals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

After missing both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, Tunisia made a return to the world stage in 2018 but had the unfortunate luck of being drawn in the same group as Belgium and England, who both went as far as the semi-finals.

While they were knocked out after finishing third in the group, they did beat Panama 2-1 to claim their second-ever victory at a World Cup. They also scored five goals in Russia, the most they had ever scored out of the five World Cups they have appeared at.

The North African nation has never made it past the tournament's Group Stages while the Socceroos' best finish came in 2006 when they lost 1-0 to Italy in the Round of 16.

Since head coach Jalel Kadri took charge of the team in January, Tunisia have only lost to Brazil and after frustrating Denmark on matchday one, they pose a serious test for Australia.  

Tunisia's squad features a mix of home and European-based players while also offering experience. Only two players — goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen and defender Nader Ghandri — have less than 10 caps to their name. Top goal scorer Wahbi Khazri and captain Youssef Msakni lead the side while young talent comes in the form of Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, who is on loan at Birmingham City.

Facing a three-day turnaround, Graham Arnold has already flagged the possibility of personnel changes against Tunisia. Aaron Mooy, Mitch Duke and Jackson Irvine also picked up yellow cards against France, which will likely feature in Arnold's thinking for the match. 

While playing in Qatar has been like a home away from home for the Socceroos, Tunisia have huge support in Qatar with an estimated 30,000 expats living in Doha. With a packed crowd and so much on the line for both teams, the match looms as an enthralling World Cup battle. 

 World ranking

Australia: 38
Tunisia: 30

Stat insights

• Scored after eight minutes and 23 seconds, Craig Goodwin netted Australia’s earliest-ever goal in a World Cup match, while it was the first time they went 1-0 up in a game in the tournament since 2010 against Serbia (Tim Cahill, 69th minute).
• At 18 years and 68 days, Garang Kuol became the youngest Socceroo to play at a World Cup when he came off the bench against France. In doing so, he also became the ninth-youngest player in history to grace a World Cup. 
• Australia have lost 11 of their 17 games at the World Cup (65%), the joint-highest ratio by any nation to play 10+ matches at the competition (Saudi Arabia also 65%).
• Hannibal Mejbri (19y 305d) became only the second teenager to make an appearance for Tunisia in the World Cup after Yassine Chikhaoui (19y 265d) versus Saudi Arabia in 2006.
• Tunisia recorded only their second clean sheet in 16 matches at the World Cup, with their other shutout coming against Germany in 1978 (0-0).
• There were 24 shots without a single goal between Denmark and Tunisia – the most shots recorded in a goalless draw at the World Cup since the Netherlands versus Costa Rica in July 2014 (26 shots).
• 15 of the 24 shots in this match between Denmark and Tunisia came via a corner situation – the most recorded in a single World Cup match since 1966.

How to watch

The match against Tunisia will be broadcast live and free on SBS and streamed live on SBS On Demand in Australia.

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ - Group D Matchday 2

Tunisia v Australia
Date: Saturday, 26 November 2022
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Kick-off: 9:00pm (AEDT)
Watch: Live and Free on SBS and SBS On Demand

What they said 

Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold

"I think we have built the belief and the energy and the focus over the last week since we’ve been in camp. We’ve been working hard at building that belief and I think the way we’ve started and that we just got punished by our mistakes against France and the delivery of their crosses was right on target.

“It was good that the other result was a draw and now it’s about winning on Saturday, so we have got to get ready for it.

"We’ve got the option of changing players and making sure we get some fresh ones out there."

Tunisia head coach Jalel Kadri

"Our group will not be easy, the draw has not been kind but we will give our all. We have our strengths, but we also know our weaknesses. We are aware we will be compared to past Tunisia squads."

Our squad

Arnold announced his 26-man squad on Tuesday, November 8 (AEDT) and selected a squad with a blend of overseas and Australian-based players as Australia look to progress from Group D.

Seventeen players in the squad have never featured at a FIFA World Cup, with many having all experienced their respective senior international debuts post the 2018 edition. It means there is a great opportunity for players to fulfil a childhood dream and represent their country at the pinnacle event in football.

READ MORE: Meet Australia's FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Squad

Socceroos Squad | FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™

READ MORE:
MEET THE SQUAD: The Goalkeepers
MEET THE SQUAD: The Defenders
MEET THE SQUAD: The Midfielders
MEET THE SQUAD: The Forward

Final Group D fixture

Up next, the Socceroos turn their attention to their final Group D fixture against Denmark.

Australia v Denmark
Date: Thursday, 1 December 2022
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah
Kick-off: 2:00am (AEDT)
Watch: Live and Free on SBS and SBS On Demand