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21 min: Tunisia finally seem to have accepted the rhythm of the game. Australia concede a couple of turnovers by inviting their opponents into them, but Dräger faces time to make a better decision.
19 mins: Tunisia are really struggling with Australia’s half-block press. Until he was slipped in with a couple of vertical passes between the lines, but Msakni is found outside the box when he looked set to curl into a shooting opportunity.
17 min: Lots of headers, lots of hasty clearances, lots of second balls. Everything is very retro for this state-of-the-art tournament. Many players play like they are in the Ligue 1 showcase.
15 mins: Behich steps up and plants his knee unnecessarily on Sliti’s buttocks to stop a possible Australian counter-attack. Duke soon picks up a Tunisian pocket to put his side back on the front foot, but Leckie’s cross is blocked. There are crashes and bodies flying from every angle. Lots of energy, not heaps of skill.
13 min: Karačić’s first cross from the right is more dangerous but Australia don’t have the body in the penalty spot to pounce. The Socceroos are leading this one so far.
12 mins: Mooy finds Behich with a long cross-field pass. His backheel frees Goodwin but another disappointing cross is easily cleared away. This has been the early pattern.
11 mins: Like against France, Australia are in their early game. Mooy comes in to intercept a move across the lines and passes link up in the final third, but no ball in the box. Tunisia have yet to settle and their physicality does not impress the German referee.
9 min: Still the play continues on the left flank of Australia’s attack, but two more crosses fail to trouble the Tunisian defense. From the second, Ali Abdi has space to gallop on the counter, but loses control and Australia have discovered. Poor Tunisian.
8 mins: Australia have enjoyed a decent couple of minutes and it’s all been down the left with Goodwin, Mooy and Behich linking up well. Again, however, the cross is easily erased.
6 mins: As usual, Aaron Mooy is Australia’s most important player, showing composure in midfield with bodies flying all over the place. Leckie feeds off good work and holds off a robust challenge to free Goodwin, but his cross is turned away. Mooy is then fouled as the second ball comes out, but his subsequent save is easily headed over.
This will be a tasty physical encounter.
Australia need to improve their free kicks and corners.
5 mins: Missteps galore in the opening exchanges with Dräger and Souttar both guilty of coughing up possession in dangerous areas.
3 mins: Most of the game so far has seen the ball contested in midfield with both teams engaged in early physical challenges. It’s all a bit frantic with the atmosphere from the stands spilling down to pitch level.
Masked Tunisian Ellyes Skhiri takes on a challenge with Jackson Irvine. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Updated at 10.07 GMT
2 mins: Australia start and try to pass the ball from behind, but the noise of the whistles and jeers is deafening, and soon the Socceroos give the ball away. Then every Tunisian touch is met with joy as if the Eagles of Carthage go 6-0 in stoppage time. Carnival atmosphere.
Start!
Will one of these unheralded sides take a giant step towards the last 16 and increase the pressure on Denmark? Let’s find out…
The teams are under the Qatari sun. Hymns are murmured. We go. Achieve. down A. Business.
We’ll get bored of this, won’t we?
Tonight is the third match of the tournament to be held at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, south of Doha’s CBD. It has already hosted France’s 4-1 win over Australia and Switzerland’s 1-0 win over Cameroon.
Updated at 09.54 GMT
Mathew Leckie and @MatyRyan will make their eighth World Cup appearances for Australia, a new Socceroos finals record.
Only Mark Bresciano (9 games, 6 starts) and Tim Cahill (9 games, 7 starts) have made more World Cup appearances than Ryan and Leckie (both 7). pic.twitter.com/YCnajz5jei
— Socceroos (@Socceroos) November 26, 2022
Tactics: I think the pattern of play will be determined by Arnold’s ambition and how he assesses risk-reward throughout the game. The opening 20 minutes against France showed the potential of a hard-working side to control the game with Aaron Mooy pulling the strings from midfield. But will it be enough to force a win? And is it able to last more than half of the half in the sweltering conditions?
For my two cents, I think Australia needs to stretch the pitch, not condense it, and invite an open, transitional end-to-end affair. It would involve giving up control of possession but, in my view, maximizing Australia’s strengths, namely passing outside, Mooy’s long passing and a top finisher on goal.
Expect to win, done done done!
Australia warm up at Al Janoub Stadium Picture: Hannah McKay/Reuters
“Tart Jonathan,” greets Phil Withall. “I’m quite confused and conflicted about Graham Arnold. He can obviously do a job, you don’t get to manage a team in a world cup by accident, but his ability to confuse is quite baffling.
“There seems to be no consistency in the way he communicates, just a random collection of statements, I wonder if he has the same connection with the players? He always seems to be reactive rather than proactive. Maybe I’m missing something, but he doesn’t seem to be the man Australia need at the moment and I don’t see the Socceroos’ chances of progressing being that strong. I hope I’m wrong.”
I’ll direct you to this analysis piece by Emma Kemp.
Why were we so upset when the results did not meet our expectations in the present? Was it partly the cognitive dissonance of repeatedly hearing him tell us to “hope to win” even when they didn’t? … Do we forgive this because we know he got them from a self-described “whispering coach” who tells his clients to study the “subconscious”?
Tonight’s referee is the German Daniel Siebert. He took charge of the 2021 Arab Cup final which Tunisia lost to Algeria 0–2 after extra time.
Daniel Siebert has a normal arbitration in Tunisia. Photograph: Ibrahim Al Omari/Reuters
Tunisia may have the advantage already simply by the selection of kits. The North Africans will stick with their all-white home kit with red trim, Australia wear their dark blue away kit with teal accents.
I tried to find a definitive Guardian link to demonstrate how lighter colors cool more in warm environments, but this is the best I could muster.
On the subject of nothing in particular, Australia does not have an embassy in Tunisia, instead relying on Canada’s diplomatic presence, with the Australian High Commission in Malta on standby.
As reported by Emma Kemp, Tunisian fans are visible and vocal in Qatar.
Thanks to Emma Kemp in Doha, there’s plenty of excellent Socceroo-related content to enjoy. Try them on for size.
Clearly they should have gone for it, completely.
Jimmy Barnes with the traditional secular Australian One Hour Call to Prayer.
Australia’s choice is the ubiquitous Down Under from Men at Work. I think it’s a shame they didn’t go for one of those versions.
Banger Down Under.
Who knew metal singers were so handsome?
This is the song that will be played on the Al Janoub public address system if Tunisia score.
In and around the excess of football, I hope you all had time to enjoy the sounds of the World Cup in Qatar. It has proved a major distraction for me in the past few days thanks to these features.
Graham Arnold spoke to SBS TV in Australia. He began by answering what he hopes to improve on tonight.
To get rid of technical errors. When you play against a superior opponent it is a game of millimeters. If you make a small mistake it becomes a big mistake. This is due to the quality of the opposition. But in general, we focus more on what we did well. Obviously, it was the first 30 minutes. We have to do it for 90.
When you look at it, the first 30 minutes we did exceptionally well. 27, 28, whatever people want to say. But it wasn’t with his good play that he opened us up. If you look back at the game, their first real chance they mustered was in the 43rd minute. They put the ball over the crossbar. The other times were our mistakes. Careless mistakes. It’s about getting rid of it and we can control it. If we’re sitting here today and saying we’ve been completely overpowered, overpowered, maybe that’s something we can’t fix, but we’ve made some mistakes and we need to fix that.
Did it happen to the mood on the pitch after France’s defeat?
We had an honest conversation, that’s the most important thing. When we got back here, I took the boys right away. Of course, they were down because we build their belief so high, we give them the belief that we are going to try it, but the most important thing is honesty. Afterward, I said, guys, put your hands up, are we better players? He was 100% honest, every player knows that. Have you given me all you’ve got? 100%, yes. Okay, let’s get on with it then.
Then there’s an unexpected detour into Gordon Strachan territory.
The size of the players in the tournament has been amazing. I’m not saying it surprises me, but it probably surprises a lot of other people. A player like Harry Souttar, we only have one. The other nations have six or seven. This is only through athletics. But we have to make sure we keep them out of our penalty box more and we can deal with that.
Conditions: The unrelenting Middle Eastern sun penetrates the ionic opening of the Al Janoub Stadium casting shadows on the green oblong oasis. hot night