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Australia’s World Cup campaign will commence against defending champions France on November 23, with Tunisia travelling to Al Wakrah three days later, followed by Denmark on December 1.
Both France and Denmark were Australia’s group opponents at the 2018 edition in Russia and return in 2022 as the favourites separating Graham Arnold’s side from a potential knockout berth.
Here’s a look at how the Socceroos’ opposition measures up.
France
Ranking: 4
Coach: Didier Deschamps
Captain: Hugo Lloris
Key players: Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante
World Cup record: 15 appearances; champions in 1998 and 2018
Qualification: Topped their group ahead of Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kazakhstan with five wins and three draws from eight matches
Record v Australia: Five meetings – Australia: one win, France: three, and one draw in between
Last meeting: France 2, Australia 1 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
The second half of 2022 has been far less fruitful for France, who have been rather inconsistent since their incredible World Cup campaign in Russia.
After securing the national team’s second world title in 2018, Les Bleus bowed out of Euro 2020 in the round of 16, won the UEFA Nations League in 2021, and have emerged winless from their last four fixtures – all while dealing with uncertainty surrounding Didier Deschamps.
Deschamps has vowed to extend his decade-long stay beyond Qatar, though his side’s recent slump in form has only encouraged reports of Zinedine Zidane’s potential appointment in 2023.
A second consecutive World Cup trophy would certainly silence his critics, though that would mean becoming the first defending champion to get past the last eight since Brazil in 1998.
Very rarely is a World Cup kind to its most recent conqueror and that could bode well for Australia when the two sides meet for their first match in Qatar.
It will be the second straight World Cup in which the Socceroos open against France, having frustrated Deschamps’ star-studded squad to an eventual 2-1 defeat in Kazan.
Be it the chance to see Kylian Mbappe against Australian opposition, or the thin slice of hope France stutter at the first hurdle, it’s fair to say Socceroos fans will have this fixture circled on their calendar.
Tunisia
Ranking: 30
Coach: Jalel Kadri
Captain: Youssef Msakni
Key players: Montassar Talbi, Ferjani Sassi, Wahbi Khazri
World Cup record: Five appearances; group stage exits each time
Qualification: Topped their group ahead of Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, and Mauritania, and qualified for the final phase where they defeated Mali over two legs
Record v Australia: Two meetings – Australia: one win, Tunisia: one win
Last meeting: Tunisia 2, Australia 0 at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
Though only the second African nation to compete against Australia at the World Cup, the prospect of Tunisia presents an entirely different challenge to that of Ghana (2010).
Qatar will mark Tunisia’s sixth appearance on the global stage and second straight after bowing out of the group stage – like Australia – in Russia.
Australian audiences won’t be too familiar with the Eagles of Carthage, or how they qualified, though players like Wahbi Khazri, Naim Sliti and Hannibal Mejbri may jog their memory.
While Mejbri is a member of Manchester United, Khazri and Sliti earned their reputation as lethal attackers in France, where key members of the current squad currently ply their trade.
Captain Youssef Msakni, meanwhile, leads the strong Tunisian contingent based in Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar, the same soil upon which Jalel Kadri’s side made the FIFA Arab Cup final last year.
Having been appointed on a permanent basis at the start of the year, Kadri’s time in charge has seen Tunisia favour a more resolute approach predicated on defence.
This stylistic switch has brought them greater success, in truth, which makes their upcoming clash against a similarly stubborn Socceroos outfit all the more intriguing.
Denmark
Ranking: 10
Coach: Kasper Hjulmand
Captain: Simon Kjaer
Key players: Kasper Schmeichel, Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
World Cup record: Five appearances; quarter-finalists in 1998
Qualification: Topped their group ahead of Scotland, Israel, Austria, Faroe Islands and Moldova with nine wins and one draw from 10 matches
Record v Australia: Four meetings – Australia: one win, Denmark: two, and one draw
Last meeting: Denmark 1, Australia 1 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
Kasper Hjulmand has improved upon the formidable foundations Age Hareide established between 2015 to 2020, with Denmark now ranked 10th-best in the world based on the latest FIFA rankings.
Denmark only lost three games from the 42 fixtures Hareide had in charge, and though that figure has increased under Hjulmand, they stand a more well-rounded squad capable of beating any opposition they face.
Though Hareide’s side were difficult to beat, Hjulmand’s men boast the national team’s highest winning percentage (68.75%) since Axel Andersen Byrval was in charge during the first World War.
It’s this new and improved Denmark that the Socceroos must overcome in Qatar; a nation that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and suffered one defeat en route to securing qualification for this year’s World Cup.
De Rod-Hvide frustrated Australia four years ago in Russia. In Qatar, they could well frighten them.
Hareide’s stubborn, defensive 4-3-3 has since made way for a fluid 3-4-3 that prioritises wing-backs like Joakim Maehle, and relies upon the engine and artistry of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Christian Eriksen.
It’s no secret the Danes are favourites to progress beyond the group, and their final game against Australia could well be the deciding factor.
