Mitchell Duke (#15) of Australia socres a header in the FIFA World Cup game against Tunisia at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar, November 26, 2022. /CFP
Australia edged Tunisia 1-0 in their second game in Group D at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Saturday. Three points Australia secured from this win enabled them to rise to second place in the group while Tunisia are at the bottom with only one point.
Both teams have their own advantage in Saturday's game. Australian players are bigger and stronger on average. They preferred open game so the team often launched offense by flying long passes beyond 30 meters.
In fact, that was how Australia scored in the first half. In the 23rd minute, Craig Goodwin's cross from the left wing hit a defender, but still flew into the box where Mitchell Duke headed it into the left corner of Tunisia's goal, making his team lead 1-0.
Harry Souttar (#19) of Australia tackles Taha Yassine Khenissi of Tunisia in the FIFA World Cup game at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar, November 26, 2022. /CFP
Despite the early lead, Australia didn't retreat most of their players to the back field. Instead, they set up layers of defense between the midfield and their box while suddenly pressing forward from time to time. Their center back Harry Souttar made key contributions by stopping the opponents' attacks multiple times before they reached the more threatening area.
Compared with Australia, Tunisia worked more on the ground thanks to their advantage in speed and dribbling skills. Despite the loss, it was a very close game at Al Janoub Stadium on Saturday. Tunisia often made decisive decisions to drive forward quickly after cutting the opponents' pass in the back or midfield. They were also able to pass to their forwards in the box.
However, none of Issam Jebali, Wahbi Khazri or Taha Yassine Khenissi or their teammates could break the goal guarded by Mathew Ryan. Australian defenders wouldn't give them much time to adjust their shooting form before coming to block their shooting with their body or making it difficult to shoot with physical contact.
Goalkeeper Mathew Ryan (#1) of Australia catches the ball in the FIFA World Cup game against Tunisia at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar, November 26, 2022. /CFP
Such poor ability to exploit scoring opportunities will cost Tunisia in their last game against France on November 30. On the same day, Australia will play against Denmark, which didn't show much better finishing ability than Tunisia during their 0-0 draw on Tuesday.
France and Denmark will play against each other first later on Saturday. If France beat Denmark, which they are likely to, the reigning champions will nearly book a spot in the Round of 16. However, it's still hard to imagine that they will lose to Tunisia in their final game. By contrast, in this scenario, as long as Australia don't lose to Denmark on November 30, they will advance to the elimination stage.