From left: Denmark’s midfielder Thomas Delaney, forward Martin Braithwaite, defender Jens Stryger Larsen, defender Daniel Wass and forward Andreas Cornelius take part in a training session at the Al Sailiya SC Training Site in Doha, yesterday. AFP
Beware all comers! Denmark are here not to make up the numbers but win the World Cup, coach Kasper Hjulmand said yesterday ahead of their Group D opener against Tunisia.
Hjulmand’s side meet Carthage Eagles at Education City Stadium at 4pm today.
“Our dream is to win something. So when you go into a tournament this group of players has the quality to win, and I mean to win everything,” Hjulmand said yesterday.
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand
The Danish Dynamites have been boosted by the return of their talisman Christian Eriksen who collapsed on the pitch with a cardiac arrest during the European Championship last year. They reached the semi-finals of that championship without Eriksen.
They have come to Qatar 2022 following a strong showing in the qualifiers and two Nations League wins over group rivals France. The Danes will also meet Australia in the group stage.
Hjulmand sounded upbeat about his team’s chances in Qatar.
“Are we favourites? No... but we can beat everyone on the day and we have a very strong self-confidence,” he said. “We have a very good group of players working together and the best way of winning everything is to dream big.” Denmark’s best showing at the World Cup came in 1998 when they reached the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Tunisian coach Jalel Kadri said his team were looking to reach the second round for the first time in the history.
Tunisia’s coach Jalel Kadri
“Our group will not be easy, the draw has not been kind,” he told reporters yesterday.
“Denmark is among the best squads in Europe. We know they have high quality in every department.
“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.”
Kadri became the head coach after a quarter-final exit at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon in February and led the side to World Cup qualification.
“In terms of performance, we feel good, we are calm and happy with the results we have achieved. We are representing all Arab nations and we deserve to be here,” he said.
Kadri will hope ace forward and captain Youssef Msakni,32, will step up to the plate in this key encounter. Msakni will also have some support in Qatar as he has remained with Al Arabi in the Qatar Stars League since he was 21.
Ahead of the Denmark game Tunisia can also gather some inside information about their opponents from two of their players who play in the Danish league. Anis Ben Slimane represents Brondby and Issam Jebali is with Odense.
“We have a great technical staff and they have prepared well for the game,” said the 30-year-old forward Jebali.
Tunisia’s players take part in a training session at Al Egla facility in Doha, yesterday. AFP
“We know the Danish set-up, how they play and even how they think. We have a very good chance, we are a good squad. We are strong, we trust each other and have a good team spirit.”
After today’s opening encounter, Denmark will meet France on Saturday while Tunisia will take on Australia on the same day.
When: Today, at 4:00pm
Where: Education City Stadium
Capacity: 40,000
Key stats:
* Denmark qualified for the World Cup by winning nine of 10 matches and conceding only three goals.
* Tunisia have failed to reach the knock out stage in their five previous World Cup appearances.
* In their five World Cup appearances, the Danes were knocked out at the group stage only once. Their best result was a quarter-final appearance at the 1998 World Cup in France.
* Tunisia have won only two of 15 matches at the World Cup.
* Denmark held 2018 World Cup champions France to a 0-0 draw in the group stage of that tournament.
Previous meetings:
* The teams have never previously met at the World Cup. Their last match was in 2002, when Denmark defeated Tunisia 2-1 in a friendly.
