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Today brings us the final matches of the Group Stage for Group C and Group D. The results will determine not only who qualifies to the Round of 16, but also who their opponents will be! The winner of group C (Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland) will play against the runner-up of group D (France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia), while the runner-up of group C will play against the winner of group D.
Group D
| Team | MP | W | D | l | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | MP | W | D | l | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| France | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| Denmark | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| Tunisia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
Tunisia vs France
Date: 30 Nov 2022 (Friday)
Time: 6 p.m. (Qatar time, GMT +3)
Venue: Education City Stadium
France has confirmed its qualification to Round of 16, and most likely will qualify as the winner of the group. They are the first reigning champions to qualify from the Group Stage since 1998, successfully breaking the “defending champion’s curse”.
However, France has a long list of injury issues. Apart from the players who came into the tournament injured (Pogba, Kante, Benzema, Nkunku, etc.), Lucas Hernandez is the latest player to be added in that list after picking up an ACL injury. The French will want to avoid any further injury issues with their preferred 11, so they might choose to rest some of their first-team players in this match. Consequently, some squad players might get a chance to shine in this final match of the Group Stage.
On the other hand, the only way for Tunisia to qualify to the Round of 16 is by defeating France and then hoping that either Australia draws with Denmark or Denmark wins against Australia with a smaller margin than Tunisia’s win against France. It will be difficult but not impossible. There are no injury issues reported from the Tunisian team after their midfielder Ellyes Skhiri recovered to feature against Denmark, wearing a protective face mask. Tunisia has only one way forward and must to be aggressive in their play, so expect an exciting, open match with plenty of goals!
Prediction: Tunisia 2 - 3 France
Australia vs Denmark
Date: 30 Nov 2022 (Friday)
Time: 6 p.m. (Qatar time, GMT +3)
Venue: Al Janoub Stadium
The Socceroos have become a favorite in Group D after beating Tunisia 1-0. However, since France is safely through to the R16 and might not field its strongest 11 against Tunisia, in order to guarantee qualification to the Round of 16, a win is still required by the Australians. Harry Souttar, the centre back who just recovered from an ACL injury before the World Cup, has shown good form and maintained a clean sheet against Tunisia, while Nathaniel Atkisnon will most likely be absent due to an ankle injury.
Denmark is pushed to the edge of elimination after losing to France by a score of 1-2. They will now need to defeat Australia by a bigger margin than Tunisia’s win against France, if Tunisia can pull that off. Although there are no injury issues reported, Denmark made a total of five changes in their line up during the second match, thus it is difficult to predict who will be starting in this crucial match. One thing is for sure, the ‘Danish Dynamite’ will have to rely on Christian Eriksen’s set piece abilities to unlock the Australian defence.
Prediction: Australia 1 - 1 Denmark
Group C
| Team | MP | W | D | l | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | MP | W | D | l | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Poland | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Argentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Mexico | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
Poland vs Argentina
Date: 30 Nov 2022 (Friday)
Time: 9 p.m. (Qatar time, GMT +3)
Venue: Stadium 974
Group C is one of the most dramatic groups due to the stunning upset of Argentina by Saudi Arabia in the first group match. Argentina will need a win to secure their Round of 16 ticket, but the opponent that they face is the leader of the group, a team that kept clean sheets in each of its first two matches. Argentina has adjusted their defence after the shock defeat to Saudi Arabia and managed to maintain a clean sheet against Mexico. Lisandro Martínez is expected to continue to start and to lead the defensive line. Lionel Messi has scored twice in this World Cup so far and is looking forward to being the first player to break down the iron fortress of Poland in this World Cup.
Poland needs only a draw against Argentina in order to qualify from the Group Stage thanks to the 2-0 victory against Saudi Arabia in the previous match. Krystian Bielik has finally recovered from injury and started the match against Saudi Arabia, while Robert Lewandowski collected his first World Cup goal in the same match. No new injury issues are reported and Poland can start the game with their strongest 11. Although Poland is the leader of Group C, the tiny margin means that nothing is secured and their journey in this World Cup will be determined by the last match of the Group Stage.
Prediction: Poland 1 - 2 Argentina
Saudi Arabia vs Mexico
Date: 30 Nov 2022 (Friday)
Time: 9 p.m. (Qatar time, GMT +3)
Venue: Lusail Stadium
Saudi Arabia has lost the advantage they built by defeating Argentina after losing 0-2 to Poland in the last match. Yasser Al-Shahrani is expected to be ruled out of the rest of the World Cup after the clash with the opposing goalkeeper in the opening match. Apart from that, no new injury issues are reported. Saleh Al-Shehri will continue to lead the offence. A win over Mexico will see the Falcons secure their first Round of 16 placement since 1994.
Mexico has not recorded a single goal in this World Cup, and worse is the injury of captain Andres Guardado during the match against Argentina. While Raúl Jiménez continues to struggle in his poor form, Hirving Lozano will have to carry the scoring responsibility on his shoulders if the Mexicans are to have the slightest hope of qualifying to the Round of 16.
Prediction: Saudi Arabia 1 - 1 Mexico
Who do you think will qualify from group C and group D? Feel free to comment and join us on the Day 11 live chat!
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Stats and info for this article were sourced from fifa.com
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