Tunisia vs France Prediction
30th November 2022
18:00 Qatar Time/15:00 GMT
Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
World Cup Tournament Form:
Tunisia
Australia
1-0
Denmark
0-0
France
Denmark
2-1
Australia
4-1
World Cup Head-to-Head Record
N/A
Tunisia vs France Prediction Match Overview
Tunisia vs France is of far more importance to the Tunisians than it is to the French, since France have already secured their qualification for the round of 16 and, barring a massive goal swing, will have topped the group even if they were to lose here. Tunisia started well, earning a point in a 0-0 stalemate with Denmark. However, they were unable to build upon this positive result, falling to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Australia in their second group game.
Simply put, the Tunisians need to go for it here if they are to reach the knockout phase for the first time in their history. They require a win regardless of what transpires elsewhere. With Denmark having accrued one solitary point and Australia securing the three points in their encounter, only an Australian victory takes qualification out of their hands. If Denmark win and Tunisia win, then goal difference and goals scored come into the equation. A draw between Denmark and Australia, and a Tunisian win would see the Tunisians qualify on goal difference.
Injuries and Suspensions
Might not play:
Will not play: L Hernandez (France)
Possible Lineups
Tunisia vs France Prediction Analysis
Rested Players
France will probably take the opportunity to rest several players in preparation for the knockout phase but will be wary of making wholesale changes as international football necessitates that team chemistry is often acquired on the pitch as opposed to the extended periods players get with each other at club level. Others, such as Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud will be keen to keep themselves in goalscoring form as they challenge for the prestigious Golden Boot. Nevertheless, we feel that the French will make a few changes here, therefore, predicting the starting lineup is proving to be something of a challenge. The likes of Kingsley Coman, Eduardo Camaviga, William Saliba and Benjamin Pavard are all pushing for an opportunity to be involved from the start, and it’s also likely that Marcus Thuram and Youssouf Fofana will be involved.
France’s incoming players will be keen to prove that they’re deserving of consideration for selection for the knockout rounds, and therefore adverse motivation isn’t likely to be TOO big a factor for the French here. That said, their starting 11 will almost certainly be weaker than what they’ve put out so far and therefore in that respect it presents the Tunisians with a sliver of an opportunity.
Tunisia Need to Go For It
While it was entirely understandable that Tunisia played with caution against a talented Denmark side, it was only in the second half when 1-0 down against the Australians that the Tunisians abandoned their cautious approach and by then it was too late. They must put that failure out of their minds and focus on what they can do to hurt a French side that will remain prohibitively strong even when rotated. To this end, Wahbi Khazri’s introduction to the starting lineup is surely a prerequisite here. Tunisia just didn’t look like they had a goal in them, while their most likely source of a ‘goal from nothing’ remained firmly planted on the bench until the 67th minute.
International tournaments are all about fine margins, so on the one hand it’s completely understandable that Tunisia would wish to keep things tight at the back and to have all 10 outfield players working hard for each other, but on the other hand, they didn’t carry much of an attacking threat until Khazri’s introduction. Coach Jalel Kadri must recognise that playing tight and hoping for a miracle isn’t proactive enough to earn Tunisia a famous win here, and consequently, he has to be brave and select the unpredictable attacking midfielder from the start.
The Battle for Possession
Despite winning their first two group games, the French have hardly been invincible, especially in midfield where they appear to prioritise the inclusion of attack-minded players at the expense of retaining possession. This has led to them conceding twice, including the opener against the Australians, and Tunisia will be mindful of this and will look to press and harass the French at every opportunity in the centre of the park. A reactive approach will not suffice here – France have so many attacking threats even if they opt to rotate heavily, so the likes of Skhiri and Laidouni will need to put in big performances to ensure that Tunisia have a platform from which their attacking players can gain a foothold the game to get them the goals they require. Tunisia will also need to score more than once if Denmark win, because Denmark are leading the Tunisians on goals scored by 1-0.
Tunisia Key Players
Aissa Laidouni
Laidouni was superb in Tunisia’s group opener against Denmark, and Tunisia are going to need another big game from the Ferencvaros man here. It didn’t help Tunisia’s cause that Laidouni was cautioned early on against Australia as this limited his contribution and ushered in a relatively lacklustre display. The French must not be permitted to settle in the middle of the park and Tunisia cannot sit deep and invite France onto them as they could find themselves a couple of goals down in quick time owing to the strength of the French attack. This is where Laidouni, in concert with his midfield partner Ellyes Skhiri, will be vital in disrupting France’s midfield rhythm at every opportunity.
Ellyes Skhiri
It’s going to take a monumental effort for Tunisia to wrest control of the game and fashion some chances, but if they’re to do that they need to dominate the midfield. Skhiri will be required to harry the French midfielders in particular into mistakes before looking for the likes of Khazri and Jebali as quickly as possible while in possession. It’s going to take a tireless effort to achieve this, and as we’ve doubtlessly mentioned before, Skhiri is a prodigiously hard worker in central midfield.
France Key Players
Kylian Mbappe
France will be anxious to put this game beyond the reach of the Tunisians as early as possible, and we won’t be surprised if they play a direct attacking game to put the ball at the feet of the PSG star at the earliest opportunity. Mbappe is in fine form, with three goals and an assist already at this point in the tournament and he will be hoping to add to his goal tally in pursuit of the Golden Boot.
Eduardo Camavinga
With the French highly likely to make wholesale changes, Real Madrid’s Camavinga, hitherto uninvolved at this point, has a golden opportunity to push his case for further inclusion in the knockout rounds. Signed by Real Madrid from Rennes as a prodigiously talented teenager, Camavinga might notionally be a defensive midfielder on paper but to label him as such does a disservice to his game and what he could potentially become. We expect Camavinga to play positively, looking to play forward passes which can be direct at times and to drive forward with the ball into space where the situation calls for it.
Tunisia vs France Prediction
Simply put, the Tunisians looked like a better team when Wahbi Khazri was introduced late in the second half against the Australians. Unless coach Kadri is particularly intransigent, we expect to see the Montpellier man make a difference to Tunisia’s approach here and against a changed French team we could see them register their first tournament goal. However, we expect France to prove to be too strong in the end for Tunisia, and will likely pull them apart as the game progresses. We feel that Tunisia will emerge from the game with some credit but also will be criticised for their overly-cautious approach against Australia.