Nothing is scored – Newspaper Kommersant No. 217 (7418) dated 11/23/2022

The Danish national team, which won a bunch of sympathy last year for a bright performance at the European Championship, gave out a faded match against the Tunisian team. Both teams had moments in this game, but the final score of 0:0 can probably be considered a completely fair outcome of the confrontation.

The Danish national team can hardly be attributed to the favorites of the world championship. Yes, in fact, it never occurred to anyone to do this. But many still expect a good result, maybe even a semi-final from the Danes. It is quite possible, because they remember how last year at the European Championships the Danish team, already in the first match, having lost Christian Eriksen, who almost died right on the field, squeezed through the play-offs with a creak and already opened up there in all its glory, having reached to the semi-finals. And also because the Danish team brilliantly passed the qualifying tournament of the World Cup, taking first place in their group. Or because the team has changed little in the last year and a half in terms of composition. Yes, and Eriksen recovered and returned to duty.

In general, everything indicated that the Danes would cope with the Tunisian team. Yes, the Tunisian team is a difficult opponent, able to play indoor football and, it seems, even enjoying it. Note that for 11 months, during which the team is headed by Jalel Kadri, she played 13 matches. If we leave out the defeat inflicted on her by the Brazilians (5:1), then in the other 12 games she conceded only three goals.

However, in the match against the Danish team, the Tunisian team did not look at all ready to give up the initiative in advance and work simply to keep a zero score. On the contrary, the center of the field for a long time passed under the control of the Tunisians, which broke all the Danes’ plans for the game. Flank passes, sharp crosses into the penalty area, which largely determine the Danish style, were rare (the same Eriksen had to move to the center of the field in order to still find the ball). And if they did, they came out clumsy or turned into corner kicks, after which absolutely nothing happened.

And Tunisia, meanwhile, snapped, and the Danish defense managed to fight back not without difficulty. In the 11th minute, after a long-range shot by Mohamed Draeger, the ball ricocheted off Andreas Christensen and miraculously missed the goal. And in the middle of the half, Issam Jebali opened the gate, however, from offside, and, of course, he was not counted. How gracefully the Tunisians organized a counterattack that ended with this very unaccounted ball should have alerted the head coach of the Danes, Kasper Yulmann. And after Jebali at the end of the half, in full accordance with the rules, fell out on Kasper Schmeichel and hooked the ball over the falling goalkeeper (fortunately for the Danes, their goalkeeper has surprisingly fast hands, and by some miracle he averted the threat), from Uhlmann’s alertness needed to urgently move on to action.

The Danish coach influenced his team. In the second half, she increased her speed, and right there, the Tunisian defense, it was clear, entered the critical operating modes for her. But this quick football ended too quickly. Although the Danish national team had chances. The same Eriksen hit the ball so well that the goalkeeper of the Tunisian national team, Aymen Damen, had to try hard to save the team. Well, at the moment when Andreas Christensen made a discount on Andreas Cornelius, who struck the ball with his head, but hit the post, the Tunisian team was rescued only by fortune.

Be that as it may, it is impossible to say that the Danish team worked to win or that the Tunisia team did not deserve a draw. Zeros remained on the scoreboard.

Alexander Petrov