2022 World Cup preview: Group D

The World Cup is just five days away! To prepare for the matches and drama that will play on the world stage, Philly Sports Network is previewing the eight groups and 32 nations competing to be champions of the world! Group D showcases a nation that won a playoff to make the World Cup, Australia, A nation looking to make a statement on and off the pitch, Denmark, the reigning world champions, France, and an African nation ready to show what they can do, Tunisia!

Group D: European favorites, world challengers

Group D has two of the top teams from Europe, and two challengers who are hoping to be the underdog that challenges the best in the world!

Australia (38th)
Denmark (10th)
France (4th)
Tunisia (30th)

The four nations in Group D all showed the talent needed in which to get to the World Cup group stage. The difference now will be which nation’s talent can shine through when the entire world is watching. Who can rise to meet their expectations, or shatter them completely?

Australia looks to show their place was earned at this World Cup

Australia had to go the hard way to make it to the 2022 men’s World Cup. They finished third in an AFC qualifying group under Saudi Arabia and Japan, which meant they needed to play an intercontinental playoff to make it to the World Cup. They beat Peru after a dramatic penalty shootout to make it to Qatar.

Now that they’re one of the final 32 nations, Australia is hoping to show its place was earned. Australia has made it to five straight World Cups but hasn’t won a game since the 2010 edition of the tournament. They’ll need to find their winning ways in this one should they want to be taken seriously.

Australia takes on France in their first 2022 World Cup match. This will probably be their hardest match, but if they can get even just a point on the reigning champions of the World, they’ll feel victorious!

Denmark wants to make a difference on and off the pitch in Qatar

Denmark is a nation that is coming to this World Cup ready to make a statement both on and off the pitch. Denmark topped their UEFA qualifying group to get to the 2022 World Cup and will be wearing jerseys that are toned down. The federation has said that this is because they feel the World Cup in Qatar is wrong because of human rights abuses, and they wish to shed more light on that.

The Danes will need to advance out of the group to keep their demonstration going, and chances are they will. Denmark doesn’t always make it out of European qualifying, but when they do they make the knockout rounds and go on a run. Could this be another year Denmark makes a quarterfinal?

That run could start for Denmark in their first match at the 2022 World Cup. They take on Tunisia on the third day of the tournament. A win could cement their run to the knockout rounds early on.

Can France become back-to-back world champions?

France is the reigning World Champions and their back at the World Cup with a high chance to repeat. The fourth-ranked team in the world cruised through UEFA qualification with five wins, three draws, and no losses. This strong French side will be seen as the favorites in the group, but can they make a run for the Cup?

The French see the fourth-highest odds to top a group at 61.8%. This trails only Argentina (69.3), Brazil (67.7), and England (62.9) as the best odds in the tournament to win a group. France was a force in the last World Cup, only trailing for 10 minutes in the entire tournament en route to winning the whole thing. Can they do the same four years later?

France opens their 2022 World Cup campaign against Australia on the third day of the tournament. This should be a convincing win and a confidence booster for the reigning world champions.

Tunisia will try to punch above their weight in Group D

Tunisia is a team that has cracked the top 30 of the world rankings. They made it through the grueling CAF qualification and now look to prove they can punch above their weight in Group D. The Tunisians have never gotten to the knockout rounds of a men’s World Cup before, and doing so in 2022 would be a huge step for the nation.

In their last round of friendlies, they beat Chile and Japan but fell to Brazil. This is an encouraging run of form, and it’s one they can draw on when they go on to play tough nations in Group D. In their most recent World Cup, back in 2018, they nearly took points from England in their first match which would have propelled them forward. This time around, they’ll look to get points from their first match and move on from there.

Tunisia opens its 2022 men’s World Cup against Denmark on the third day of the tournament. If they can shock the Danes and get points from the match, they could be on their way to shocking the world at the knockout stages of the tournament.