The Sunday Mail
A prankster, presumably with Tunisian allegiance, changed the North African country’s World Cup page on Wikipedia to insert a 5-0 victory over Australia before their Group D match had even kicked off yesterday.
What the culprit failed to take into account though was a superbly drilled Australian side that defended as if their lives depended on it to preserve a priceless 1-0 victory that gives them real hope of reaching the last 16.
With world champions France and Denmark favourites to progress from the group, Tunisia and Australia had targeted their clash in the Al Janoub Stadium as a must-win game.
But Australia edged the tactical battle in the first half to deny Tunisia’s technicians the time on the ball they required and then, in the second half as Tunisia threw caution to the wind, Graham Arnold’s side withstood the siege admirably.
No one epitomised Australia’s defensive grit more than 24-year-old Stoke City defender Harry Souttar, who made a sublime goal-saving sliding block before half-time and numerous crunching tackles late on as Tunisia poured forward.
Australia did such a great job of stifling Tunisia’s three-man forward line that their keeper Mat Ryan did not have a single save to make until well past the hour mark.
But Australia’s first World Cup victory in 12 years was not simply the result of a dogged rearguard action.
In Aaron Mooy they had the best midfielder on the pitch, the Celtic man pulling the strings and allowing Australia to boss possession in a first half in which they made clever use of the channels against a narrowly defending Tunisian outfit.
It was no surprise that Mitchell Duke’s glancing header in the 23rd minute came from one of 12 crosses Australia attempted to deliver into the Tunisia box in the first half.
Despite the temperature hovering around 30 degrees celsius, Australia’s energy-levels barely dipped, although they were hanging on for the final 20 minutes as Tunisia, roared on by thousands of red-clad fans, laid siege to the goal.
With three points and Denmark to come, Arnold’s team can dream of reaching the last 16.
For Tunisia, who did well to forge an opening 0-0 draw with Denmark, they will need to beat France to stand any chance of progressing.
In their last 10 games, Tunisia’s defence had only been breached by Brazil, but unless goal-scoring opportunities can be converted, any side’s World Cup campaign is doomed to failure.
Meanwhile, Poland bolstered their chances of reaching the World Cup’s last 16 for the first time since 1986 after goals from Piotr Zielinski and Robert Lewandowski killed Saudi Arabia’s efforts to advance a game early.
Zielinski scored after 39 minutes against the run of play and Lewandowski put the match beyond Saudi Arabia eight minutes from time, while goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s stunning double save from a penalty in first-half stoppage time kept Poland in the match against a Saudi side that was always on the attack.
The result leaves Poland needing only a point from their final Group C match against Argentina to guarantee their spot in the next round.
Saudi Arabia were the better team for the first half and had the advantage of a few favourable refereeing decisions but will rue the missed penalty from Salem Al-Dawsari, who scored the winner in their historic victory over Argentina last week. — Reuters.
