You may have to go all the way back to 1962 to find the last time a team retained the World Cup but nevertheless – don’t expect the rest of Group D to underestimate France.
Whether Didier Deschamps’ team can replicate the feats of Brazil 50 years ago remains up for discussion but any team with Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid‘s Karim Benzema in the side need to be taken very seriously indeed.
Denmark will provide a stern test, especially after impressing at the last European Championships with a run to the last four and should qualify with the French, although with nothing expected of Tunisia or Australia in such a tough group, there could be a few twists along the way.
Everything you need to know about Denmark:
Three things you need to know about Denmark
Alexi Lalas gives three things to know about Denmark ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Coach: Kasper Hjulmand
Highest finish: Quarterfinals (1998)
2018 finish: Round of 16
FOX Bet odds: +2800
Key players: Mikkel Damsgaard, Christian Eriksen, Simon Kjaer
What we’re excited to watch: It will be great to see Christian Eriksen back playing international football following his shocking collapse at the European Championships. The football world was left stunned when the Manchester United midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest, but he’s made a full recovery and remains a key man for Denmark.
What success looks like: Quarterfinals
Achilles’ heel: Surprisingly, it could be goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, long one of the most important members of the squad. Schmeichel has been in patchy form since leaving Leicester City for French club Nice. He’s in danger of losing his first team place at club level.
X-Factor: Eintracht Frankfurt star Jesper Lindstrom is one of the emerging stars of the Bundesliga and will provide a spark for Denmark in Qatar. A great dribbler and a box of tricks, Lindstrom adds some real cutting edge in attack and can play on the wing as well as more centrally if needed.
Group D Preview: France, Australia, Tunisia, and Denmark
Alexi Lalas and David Mosse break down Group C of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Goalkeepers: Kasper Schmeichel, Oliver Christensen, Frederik Ronnow
Defenders: Simon Kjaer, Joachim Andersen, Joakim Maehle, Andreas Christensen, Rasmus Kristensen, Jens Stryger Larsen, Victor Nelsson, Daniel Wass, Alexander Bah
Midfielders: Thomas Delaney, Mathias Jensen, Christian Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Christian Norgaard
Forwards: Andreas Skov Olsen, Jesper Lindstrom, Andreas Cornelius, Martin Braithwaite, Kasper Dolberg, Mikkel Damsgaard, Jonas Wind, Robert Skov, Yussuf Poulsen
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Follow him on Twitter @MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter.
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