Welcome to the ‘That’s Guide to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.’

Throughout the week That’s will be publishing a series of articles highlighting everything you need to know about the tournament. Here's your guide to Group D.

Australia

2022 marks the sixth time the Socceroos have qualified for the World Cup. They’ve come a long way since their first attempt at qualification for the 1966 World Cup; the Aussies were defeated by North Korea in a game played on neutral soil in Cambodia. 

Having only gained a point at World Cup Russia 2018, they’ll be hoping for some improvement in Qatar. However, qualifying from the group won’t be easy, especially with Denmark and current World Cup champions France to compete with.

Denmark

Denmark’s best-ever performance in a World Cup was back in France ’98; they reached the quarter-final before losing 3-2 to Brazil. 

The fact that star midfielder Christian Eriksen is in the 2022 World Cup squad would have been unthinkable not so long ago. The Manchester United player suffered a heart attack on the pitch during Denmark’s group game against Finland at Euro 2020. 

With Eriksen recovered and ready to represent his country in Qatar, could Denmark cause an upset at this year’s tournament?

France

Could France fall victim to the World Cup champion’s curse? In 2018 Germany became the fourth World Cup winner in a row to fail to progress past the tournament’s group stages. 

At the end of September, striker Kylian Mbappe refused to take part in a team photoshoot due to a dispute over image rights. He later backed down and did take part.

A few weeks later Mbappe reiterated his summer claim that he wanted to leave Paris Saint Germain (PSG). The announcement came as a shock; PSG thought the issue was resolved after they gave him a contract worth RMB532 million per year and France's president Emmanuel Macron even met with the 23-year-old to dissuade him from leaving. 

With the weight of the nation on their shoulders, and a number of key players injured, will France crumble?

Tunisia

This year’s tournament marks the sixth time that the North African nation has qualified for the World Cup. 

There hasn’t been too much success on the field for Tunisia to celebrate, as the country has never made it past the group stage of the tournament.

Their first World Cup win came against Mexico in 1978. They would then have to wait another 40 years for their next victory, having beaten Panama in 2018. 

Don’t expect too much from these guys. 

[Cover image via That’s]