We are well into the second round of fixtures and, on this wonderful Saturday, we have another four World Cup games to look ahead to. France take on Denmark in a huge clash later on, while Lionel Messi’s Argentina could go out of the World Cup unless they pick up all three points. Here’s everything you need to know about today’s matches.
Tunisia vs Australia - Group D
Where: Al Janoub Stadium, Al-Wakrah
When: 10am (GMT) / 1pm (AST)
TV: BBC One and BBC Iplayer
Last meeting: Tunisia 2-0 Australia (2005 Confederations Cup)
Tunisia’s last five: Drew 0-0 v Denmark, Lost 1-5 v Brazil, Won 1-0 v Comoros, Won 3-0 v Japan, Won 2-0 v Chile,
Tunisia’s World Cup record: Sixth finals appearance (Best: Group Stage, 1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018) Total games: 16, Won 2, Drawn 5, Lost 9. Win percentage 12.5%
Australia's last five: Lost 4-1 v France, Won 2-0 v New Zealand, Won 1-0 v New Zealand, Drew 0-0 v Peru, Won 2-1 v United Arab Emirates
Australia’s World Cup record: Sixth finals appearance (Best: Round of 16, 2006) Total games: 17, Won 2, Drawn 4, Lost 11. Win percentage 11.76%
Tunisia squad: 1 Aymen Mathlouthi, 2 Bilel Ifa, 3 Montassar Talbi, 4 Yassine Meriah, 5 Nader Ghandri, 6 Dylan Bronn, 7 Youssef Msakni, 8 Hannibal Mejbri, 9 Issam Jebali, 10 Wahbi Khazri, 11 Taha Yassine Khenissi, 12 Ali Maaloui, 13 Feriani Sassi, 14 Aissa Laidouni, 15 Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, 16 Aymen Dahmen, 17 Ellyes Skhiri, 18 Ghailene Chaalali, 19 Seifeddine Jaziri, 20 Mohamed Drager, 21 Waidi Kechrida, 22 Bechir Ben Said, 23 Naim Sliti, 24 Ali Abdi, 25 Anis Ben Slimane, 26 Mouez Hassen
Australia squad: 1 Mathew Ryan, 2 Milos Degenek, 3 Nathaniel Atkinson, 4 Kye Rowles, 5 Fran Karacic, 6 Martin Boyle, 7 Mathew Leckie, 8 Bailey Wright, 9 Jamie Maclaren, 10 Aidin Hrustic, 11 Awer Mabil, 12 Andrew Redmayne, 13 Aaron Mooy, 14 Riley McGree, 15 Mitchell Duke, 16 Aziz Behich, 17 Cameron Devlin, 18 Danny Vukovic, 19 Harry Souttar, 20 Thomas Deng, 21 Garang Kuol, 22 Jackson Irvine, 23 Craig Goodwin, 24 Joel King, 25 Jason Cummings, 26 Keanu Baccus
Preview: Tunisia will be the happier of the two nations heading into this one after picking up a creditable point in their opening 0-0 draw with Denmark. The African nation were backed by a massive following and could have won the game, but will take a point. If they can beat Australia here, it gives Jalel Kadri’s team a big chance of qualification, but with France still to play, they will have to go all out for three points.
Meanwhile, Australia looked like they could follow in Saudi Arabia’s footsteps when they took a shock lead against France thanks to Craig Goodwin, but they were quickly put back in their place with four unanswered goals. It’s difficult to measure where your side is at when Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud are running riot, so they will head into this game with ambitions of getting back on track. Defeat for either side could see them knocked out, so this could provide a Saturday morning cracker.
Betfred match odds: Tunisia 11/4, draw 9/4, Australia 11/4
Both teams to score: No 4/5, Yes 10/11
Featured bet: Tunisia to win and BTTS - 4/1
To qualify from Group F: Tunisia 7/2, Australia 4/1
Poland vs Saudi Arabia - Group C
Where: Education City Stadium, Doha
When: 1pm (GMT) / 4pm (AST)
TV: BBC One and BBC Iplayer
Last meeting: Poland 2-1 Saudi Arabia (2006)
Poland’s last five: Drew 0-0 v Mexico, Won 1-0 v Chile, Won 1-0 v Wales, Lost 0-2 v Netherlands, Lost 0-1 v Belgium, Drew 2-2 v Netherlands.
Poland’s World Cup record: Ninth finals appearance (Best: Third place, 1974, 1982) Total games: 34, Won 16, Drawn 5, Lost 13. Win percentage 47%
Saudi Arabia’s last five: Won 2-1 vs Argentina, Lost 0-1 v Croatia, Drew 1-1 v Panama, Won 1-0 v Iceland, Won 1-0 v North Macedonia, Drew 0-0 v USA
Saudi Arabia’s World Cup record: Fourth finals appearance (Best: Round of 16, 1994) Total Games 17, Won 4, Drawn 2, Lost 11. Win percentage 23%
Poland squad: 1 Wojciech Szczesny, 2 Matty Cash, 3 Artur Jedrzejczyk, 4 Mateusz Wieteska, 5 Jan Bednarek, 6 Krystian Bielik, 7 Arkadiusz Milik, 8 Damian Szymanski, 9 Robert Lewandowski, 10 Grzegorz Krychowiak, 11 Kamil Grosicki, 12 Lukasz Skorupski, 13 Jakub Kaminski, 14 Jakub Kiwior, 15 Kamil Glik, 16 Karol Swiderski, 17 Szymon Zurkowski, 18 Bartosz Bereszynski, 19 Sebastian Szymanski, 20 Piotr Zielinski, 21 Nicola Zalewski, 22 Kamil Grabara, 23 Krzysztof Piatek, 24 Przemyslaw Frankowski, 25 Robert Gumny, 26 Michal Skoras
Saudi Arabia squad: 1 Mohammed Al-Rubaie, 2 Sultan Al-Ghannam, 3 Abdullah Madu, 4 Abdulelah Al-Amri, 5 Ali Al-Bulaihi, 6 Mohammed Al-Breik, 7 Salman Al-Faraj, 8 Abdulellah Al-Malki, 9 Firas Al-Buraikan, 10 Salem Al-Dawsari, 11 Saleh Al-Shehri, 12 Saud Abdulhamid, 13 Yasser Al-Shahrani, 14 Abdullah Otayf, 15 Ali Al-Hassan, 16 Sami Al-Najei, 17 Hassan Al-Tambakti, 18 Nawaf Al-Abed, 19 Hattan Bahebri, 20 Abdulrahman Al-Aboud, 21 Mohammed Al-Owais, 22 Nawaf Al-Aqidi, 23 Mohamed Kanno, 24 Nasser Al-Dawsari, 25 Haitham Asiri, 26 Riyadh Sharahili
Preview: Well, well, well. Saudi Arabia, even in their wildest dreams, couldn’t have imagined beating Argentina in the opener. But they did and their 2-1 win from behind goes down as one of the competition’s greatest ever upsets. Now, they know that a win over Poland will secure their place into the round of 16 for the first time since 1994. Salem Aldawsari scored that epic winner against Lionel Messi’s side and will be hoping to create more history here against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland.
Poland were disappointing in their 0-0 draw with Mexico, as their most famous forward shockingly saw his penalty saved by World Cup icon Guillermo Ochoa. With Saudi Arabia’s showing, that could well have been their easiest game in this group, so they need a win here to give themselves a genuine chance to progress. Lewandowski is still waiting for his first World Cup goal.
Betfred match odds: Poland 3/4 , draw 11/4, Saudi Arabia 4/1
Both teams to score: No 4/5, Yes 10/11
Featured bet: Draw or Saudi Arabia - 21/20
To Qualify From Group C: Poland 11/10, Saudi Arabia EVS
Where: Stadium 974, Doha
When: 4pm (GMT) / 7pm (AST)
TV: ITV1, STV and ITV Hub
Last meeting: Denmark 2-0 France (2022 Nations League)
France’s last five: Won 4-1 v Denmark, Lost 0-2 v Denmark, Won 2-0 v Austria, Lost 0-1 v Croatia, Drew 1-1 v Austria.
France’s World Cup record: 16th finals appearance (Best: Winners 1998, 2018) Total games: 67, Won 35, Drawn 13, Lost 19. Win percentage 52%
Denmark’s last five: Drew 0-0 with Tunisia, Won 2-0 v France, Lost 1-2 v Croatia, Won 2-0 v Austria, Lost 0-1 v Croatia
Denmark’s World Cup record: Sixth finals appearance (Best: Quarter-finals, 1998) Total games: 21, Won 9, Drawn 6, Lost 6. Win percentage 43%.
France squad: 1 Hugo Lloris, 2 Benjamin Pavard, 3 Axel Disasi, 4 Raphael Varane, 5 Jules Kounde, 6 Matteo Guendouzi, 7 Antoine Griezmann, 8 Aurelien Tchouameni, 9 Olivier Giroud, 10 Kylian Mbappe, 11 Ousmane Dembele, 12 Randal Kolo Muani, 13 Youssouf Fofana, 14 Adrien Rabiot, 15 Jordan Veretout, 16 Steve Mandanda, 17 William Saliba, 18 Dayot Upamecano, 20 Kingsley Coman, 21 Lucas Hernandez, 22 Theo Hernandez, 23 Alphonse Areola, 24 Ibrahima Konate, 25 Eduardo Camavinga, 26 Marcus Thuram
Denmark squad: 1 Kasper Schmeichel, 2 Joachim Andersen, 3 Victor Nelsson, 4 Simon Kjaer, 5 Joakim Maehle, 6 Andreas Christensen, 7 Mathias Jensen, 8 Thomas Delaney, 9 Martin Braithwaite, 10 Christian Eriksen, 11 Andreas Skov Olsen, 12 Kasper Dolberg, 13 Rasmus Kristensen, 14 Mikkel Damsgaard, 15 Christian Norgaard, 16 Oliver Christensen, 17 Jens Stryger Larsen, 18 Daniel Wass, 19 Jonas Wind, 20 Yussuf Poulsen, 21 Andreas Cornelius, 22 Frederik Ronnow, 23 Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 24 Robert Skov, 25 Jesper Lindstrom, 26 Alexander Bah
Preview: France can book their place in the next round if they beat Denmark and after an impressive performance against Australia, they will fancy their chances. However, the Danes beat France home and away in last year’s Nations League campaign and will hope to get back on track here after a disappointing opener.
They failed to show any cutting edge in their goalless draw with Tunisia and now have an awful lot of pressure on their shoulders to get out of the group. Kylian Mbappe is likely to play a key role here, while Olivier Giroud can become France’s outright record goalscorer, having gone level with Thierry Henry by scoring a brace last time out.
Betfred match odds: France 17/20, Draw 5/2, Denmark 18/5
Both teams to score: No 4/5, Yes 10/11
Featured bet: France to win and over 2.5 goals - 21/10
To qualify from Group D: France 1/66, Denmark 2/5
Where: Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen
When: 7pm (GMT) / 10pm (AST)
TV: ITV1, STV and ITV Hub
Last meeting: Argentina 4-0 Mexico (2019)
Argentina’s last five: Lost 2-1 v Saudi Arabia, Won 5-0 v United Arab Emirates, Won 3-0 v Jamaica, Won 3-0 v Honduras, Won 5-0 v Estonia
Argentina’s World Cup record: 18th finals appearance (Best: Winners, 1978, 1986) Total Games: 82, Won 47, Drawn 10, Lost 25. Win percentage 57%
Mexico’s last five: Drew 0-0 v Poland, Lost 1-2 v Sweden, Won 4-0 v Iraq, Lost 2-3 v Colombia, Won 1-0 v Peru
Mexico’s World Cup record: 17th finals appearance (Best: Quarter-finals, 1970, 1986) Total games: 58, Won 16, Drawn 15, Lost 27. Win percentage 27%
Argentina squad: 1 Franco Armani, 2 Juan Foyth, 3 Nicolas Tagliafico, 4 Gonzalo Montiel, 5 Leandro Paredes, 6 Gaston Pezzella, 7 Rodrigo De Paul, 8 Marcos Acuna, 9 Julian Alvarez, 10 Lionel Messi, 11 Angel Di Maria, 12 Geronimo Rulli, 13 Cristian Romero, 14 Exequiel Palacios, 15 Angel Correa, 16 Joaquin Correa, 17 Alejandro Gomez, 18 Guido Rodriguez, 19 Nicolas Otamendi, 20 Alexis Mac Allister, 21 Paulo Dybala, 22 Lautaro Martinez, 23 Emiliano Martinez, 24 Enzo Fernandez, 25 Lisandro Martinez, 26 Nahuel Molina
Mexico squad: 1 Alfredo Talavera, 2 Nestor Araujo, 3 Cesar Montes, 4 Edson Alvarez, 5 Johan Vasquez, 6 Gerardo Arteaga, 7 Luis Romo, 8 Carlos Rodriguez, 9 Raul Jimenez, 10 Alexis Vega, 11 Rogelio Funes Mori, 12 Rodolfo Cota, 13 Guillermo Ochoa, 14 Erick Gutierrez, 15 Hector Moreno, 16 Hector Herrera, 17 Orbelin Pineda, 18 Andres Guardado, 19 Jorge Sanchez, 20 Henry Martin, 21 Uriel Antuna, 22 Hirving Lozano, 23 Jesus Gallardo, 24 Luis Chavez, 25 Roberto Alvarado, 26 Kevin Alvarez
Preview: Argentina are in big trouble. The second favourites to win the entire tournament lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia and now face Mexico, knowing a defeat could knock them out of the competition. A group stage exit was unthinkable before the tournament began and Argentina now face knockout games from here on in.
Meanwhile, Mexico, after a stale draw with Poland, will be hoping to take advantage of Argentina’s frailties. They have some good attacking talent in the form of Hirving Lozano and Raul Jiminez but they haven’t beaten Argentina since 2004.
Betfred match odds: Argentina 3/5, Draw 3/1, Mexico 5/1.
Both teams to score: No 4/6, Yes 11/10
Featured bet: Argentina -2, 9/2.
To Qualify From Group D: Argentina ½, Poland 11/10
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
