2022 World Cup: Tunisia draws Denmark in Group D opener

Tunisia held Denmark to a goalless draw in their 2022 World Cup first match on Tuesday at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.

The highly rated Danes were put through a rigorous workout in Group D despite playing a number of Premier League regulars.

Offside rulings prevented goals for both teams, while Andreas Cornelius of Denmark miraculously missed from a yard away.

Referee Cesar Ramos made a dramatic judgement in the 95th minute after consulting the pitchside monitor over a possible Denmark handball penalty.

Denmark, one of the pre-tournament favourites, will need to regain their form if they are to advance from what appears to be a challenging group.

When the ball struck Yassine Merriah’s arm, the video assistant referee proposed a penalty check, but the referee determined his on-pitch ruling had been right.

Ramos was really being quite consistent; earlier, he had determined that an incident against Andreas Christensen at the opposing end was not a penalty.

Denmark benefited from their reputation as an underdog at Euro 2020. As favourites, they had a challenging 90 minutes and will need to move through the ranks to advance in this competition.