Tunisia and Australia face off on Saturday in a World Cup Group D soccer showdown at Al Jonoub Stadium.
Tunisia currently sits in second place in the group, having picked up one point. Tunisia faced off against Denmark in the first game, and it ended in a 0-0 draw. They only had 38 percent of the possession and one shot on goal, but the defense stepped up in a big way. They allowed Denmark to have five shots on goal, but it didn’t ever feel like they were being dominated. Tunisia seems to be healthy coming into this game, which means they should have plenty of choices if they want to make some changes. Wahbi Khazri didn’t play in the first game, and it’s expected he is going to play here, although that could be off the bench. In this game, Tunisia needs to find a way to get the offense going here.
On the other side of this matchup is Australia, who sits in 4th place in the group having picked up zero points. Australia faced off with France in the first game, and they really struggled, losing 4-1. Craig Woodwin scored in the 9th minute, and it looked like maybe this was the year for Australia. The defense however couldn’t hold up, and they ended up giving four goals after the 27th minute. There would be a reason for Australia to make some big changes in this game, but it’s expected they are going to stick with mostly the same squad that played against France. Mathew Leckie is expected to start again here, and they need him to get some offense going here.
Tunisia’s first game ended in a 0-0 draw, and it wouldn’t shock me if that’s how this game ended too. Tunisia is a good defensive team, and they should have no issue slowing down this Australian offense. I also don’t expect Tunisia to have many scoring chances here. This game is going to be low scoring and the under is going to cash.