GWT: World Cup - Group D (France and Australia Advance)

[bluesfan94]

Group D appears to be pretty straightforward, but as is often the case in World Cups, surprises can happen. France, the defending champions, have had to deal with some significant injuries, including late injuries to star strikers, but the team remains loaded with young superstars and experienced vets. Denmark, the favorite to finish second in the group, is on a strong run of form and returns Christian Eriksen, who experienced a significant medical emergency in the most recent Euros. Meanwhile, the Socceroos have been known for their upsets in World Cup play, while Tunisia has a strong goalscorer up front and young talent waiting in the wings.

Key Players: Kylian Mbappe (France), Aurelien Tchouameni (France), Simon Kjaer (Denmark), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Mathew Ryan (Australia), Mathew Leckie (Australia), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia)

Home	Away	Time and Date (CST)	Venue
Denmark	Tunisia	Tue., Nov. 22, 7:00 AM	Education City Stadium
France	Australia	Tue., Nov. 22, 1:00 PM	Al Janoub Stadium
Tunisia	Australia	Sat., Nov. 26, 4:00 AM	Al Janoub Stadium
France	Denmark	Sat., Nov. 26, 10:00 AM	Stadium 974
Tunisia	France	Wed., Nov. 30, 9:00 AM	Education City Stadium
Australia	Denmark	Wed., Nov. 30, 9:00 AM	Al Janoub Stadium

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[robertmac43]

I'm not going to overthink this one. The winner's curse ends here with France escaping the group stage.

Denmark
France
Australia
Tunisia

 

[Tuggy]

Easiest group to predict I think with France and Denmark going through.

Denmark looking like a very popular darkhorse pick. We'll see if they live up to it.

 

[QuietContrarian]

Easiest group to predict I think with France and Denmark going through.

Denmark looking like a very popular darkhorse pick. We'll see if they live up to it.

They wont.

Maybe, only maybe if we finish 1st, and Argentina 1st.

But if we pair up with Argentina in the R16, forget about it.

 

[Savant]

Denmark and France

 

[Live in the Now]

Benz OUT for the WC.

 

[koyvoo]

It’s a good thing France is as deep as they are, but they’ve lost a lot of high end, core pieces already.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

Benz OUT for the WC.

The US has changed so much since my youth. As I am watching the Buckeye game on ABC, they changed up from the scrolling football scores to "Breaking News", and then the annoucentment that he will be out for the tournament.

 

[gary69]

Benz OUT for the WC.

That might cost him the Ballon d'Or? If someone really shines in the WC and leads his country to the title.

 

[robertmac43]

Poor Benz man, that sucks. Never want to see someone go down like that.

 

[jcs0218]

Reports state a 3 week recovery time. Which makes me surprised that they are declaring him out of the tournament, considering that the late stages of the knockout round would be 3-4 weeks away and also the fact that the rosters have been expanded to 26 for this year.

It is a contrast to hockey, where players are never officially ruled out during the playoffs even when suffering serious injuries.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

1. Denmark
2. France
3. Tunisia
4. Australia

No mystery who’ll advance, but I think Denmark takes first.

 

[Cloned]

This ref really ain’t gonna call any fouls against Denmark eh?

 

[NyQuil]

Tunisia with a lot of moxy early.

Stadium is rocking.

Clearly they saw the Argentina result.

 

[Tuggy]

Tunisia looking good so far.

Deflection there just about went in.

 

[sansabri]

let's go Tunisia

 

[sansabri]

boo refs

 

[Panteras]

Bro that one Tunisian guy must be on coke, he’s so pumped lmao

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

Tunisia with a lot of moxy early.

Stadium is rocking.

Clearly they saw the Argentina result.

Tunisia getting a result against Denmark would be much less of an upset than Saudi Arabia beating Argentina. Denmark is another one of those 2nd tier European teams where 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts'. If those teams don't find a good rhythm they can look terribly mediocre. What I'm saying is that Tunisia probably went into this with some hopes of a result regardless of what the Saudis did earlier.

 

[Oberyn Martell]

Denmark completely outplayed in first half. Didn't expect that

 

[sansabri]

so close

 

[NyQuil]

Tunisia getting a result against Denmark would be much less of an upset than Saudi Arabia beating Argentina. Denmark is another one of those 2nd tier European teams where 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts'. If those teams don't find a good rhythm they can look terribly mediocre. What I'm saying is that Tunisia probably went into this with some hopes of a result regardless of what the Saudis did earlier.

If you don’t think a major upset by a regional rival provides a boost, well I’m going to have to disagree.

I’m not sure where I stated that it would be an upset on par with Saudi Arabia-Argentina.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

If you don’t think a major upset by a regional rival doesn’t provide a boost, well I’m going to have to disagree.

I’m not sure where I stated that it would be an upset on par with Saudi Arabia-Argentina.

The impression I got from your post was that the Tunisians are hyped because of the Saudis. I think they're hyped because it's their 1st match at the World Cup and they think they can win it.

I'm also not aware of any rivalry between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. They're not even in the same confederation.

 

[NyQuil]

The impression I got from your post was that the Tunisians are hyped because of the Saudis. I think they're hyped because it's their 1st match at the World Cup and they think they can win it.

I think every team is hyped about their first match in the World Cup.

I don’t consider that particularly revelatory.

I'm also not aware of any rivalry between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. They're not even in the same confederation.

They are both Arab nations, members of the Arab league, etc.

 

[NyQuil]

Now the commentators at half time are talking about Tunisia taking something from the earlier Saudi result.