Denmark 0-0 Tunisia: PLAYER RATING as Christian Eriksen’s squad is held

Denmark and Tunisia played out the first goalless draw of the 2022 World Cup, but the match was not without action as both teams missed good chances to claim all three points.

Both Group D teams had the ball in the net before seeing offside calls go against them on an afternoon when Christian Eriksen returned to a major tournament for the first time since his collapse on the pitch at Euro 2020 last year.

Sports mail Take a look at how both teams fared at Education City Stadium with our player ratings.

DENMARK (4-3-3)

Kasper Schmeichel – No longer a Premier League force, but still a top class goalkeeper after making what will probably be one of the saves of the tournament to deny Jebali in the first half. 8

Joachim Anderson – Seemed to be targeted by Tunisia, but after a shaky start to the game, grew and eventually produced a composed second half. 6

Simon Kjaer – Departed shortly after the hour mark and had a largely flawless rendering for the most part. However, the captain struggled to inspire his side and was too slow to divide the game from the back. 6

Andrew Kristensen – Good performance from the Barcelona and former Chelsea man who made some key blocks to keep Tunisia at bay. 7

Rasmus Kristensen – Got a hard booking but couldn’t quite find Eriksen on the right to kick off Denmark’s attack. 6

Thomas Delaney – Progressed to the first half after failing to take control of the game, but was injured on the stroke of half time after falling awkwardly during a challenge. 6

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – The Tottenham midfielder was one of the Danish players who had a better first half than the second, with a long-range drive well saved by the Tunisian stopper. 6

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was close to a goal for Denmark with a long range attempt

Joakim Maehle – Largely ineffective on the left side, but started to gain influence as Denmark made a substitution in the second half and pushed for a winner. 6.5

Andrew Skov Olsen – Found the net for Denmark, but the game was already corrected for offside. Other than that, he did little else to threaten to leave. 5

Kasper Dolberg – Didn’t contribute much either, apart from a tap on the near post that Skov Olsen should have attacked to score. 5

Christian Eriksen – Not a step wasted. Set pieces caused all sorts of problems in Tunisia and he will be an important player for Denmark in these finals. 8

Christian Eriksen was at his most creative on Tuesday from set pieces, at least for Denmark

REPLACEMENTS

Mathias Jensen – Brought energy to Denmark’s attack after being deployed. Took one for the team after a yellow card for a professional foul to stop a counter-attack. 6.5

Michael Damsgaard – Replaced the injured Delaney, but he also couldn’t find the creative side to break down Tunisia, who defended comfortably against him. 5

Andrew Cornelius – Replaced Skov Olsen to provide more threat, but ultimately missed the golden opportunity to score the winning goal by not heading in from just six feet out. 5

Jesper Lindstrom – Had little impact on the game and was just as ineffective as the rest of Denmark’s substitutes. 6

Andreas Cornelius (21) failed to turn in a later header to win the match for Denmark

TUNISIA (3-4-3)

Aymen Dahmen – Like his counterpart, he was almost flawless and made some important saves, while also looking composed as he came off his line to collect crosses. 8

Montassar Talbi – Did a good job holding the left side of the back three and was often alert enough to produce crucial clearances. 7

Yassin Meria – Survived the late handball penalty that would have probably cost Tunisia a vital World Cup point after a strong performance. 7

Dylan Bronn – Saw little of the ball, but was part of a stubborn back three that left Denmark hugely frustrated in their pursuit of victory. 6

Muhammad Carrier – Had a shot in the first half that got a bad deflection before going just wide of Schmeichel’s goal. Replace with standing applause. 7

Ellyes Skhir – Excellent show in the middle of the park. Contributing to the defense while playing a role in Tunisia’s attacks both high up the pitch and on the counter. 7

Aissa Laidouni – Set the tone early with a gritty tackle on Eriksen and then never let go. Produced a tireless display that helped rouse Tunisian supporters. 7

Tunisia’s Aissa Laidouni put in an energetic performance as Tunisia picked up an important draw

Ali Abdi – Officially out as a midfielder, but he appeared to play as an extra defender for most of the game. Regardless, it proved effective in earning a tie. 6.5

Anis Ben Slimane – One of Tunisia’s least effective stars – rarely saw the ball before being substituted with 23 minutes to play. 7

Issam Jebali – Saw a goal disallowed after a cool finish, but probably should have scored after playing in on goal in a one-on-one with Schmeichel. 7

Youssef Msakni – An outstanding performance from the Tunisia captain who led by example by tirelessly following the field in defense and attack before being replaced after being put on the hard yards. 8.5

REPLACEMENTS

Naim Sliti – Didn’t have too many chances to attack once deployed, but when he did he had to be hacked to avoid a dangerous counter. 6

Issam Jebali was a constant threat in attack for Tunisia as they picked up a World Cup point