Group D: Team previews and breakdowns

This is a group that will play a big role in the bigger picture of the tournament. All eyes are on the defending World Champions France, and black horse contenders Denmark, where they finish in the group could potentially open the door for a surprise team to make a deep run.

FRANCE

They have one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the tournament, and talent alone they should be considered contenders along with Argentina and Brazil, the problem is that the team hasn't played to their potential for a while now - and have been one of the team that have suffered the most with injuries.

They struggled in the 2020 Euro getting eliminated by Switzerland in the Round of 16 and had underwhelming performance in the Nations League finishing third in their group behind Croatia and Denmark.

Team's philosophy: France won the 2018 World Cup with a 4-3-3, but Didier Deschamps has slowly moved to play more with a 5-3-2 setup. France is not a team that will try to dominate ball possession, they like exploiting the speed of its players on the wings and being direct in the attack and press possession based team high to win the ball in the attacking third.

This is how they could line up:

France currently has an abundance of quality center backs, so what do you do? You start five of them. Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard who usually plays as center backs will play as left back and right back respectively just the way they did 4 years ago.

The big mystery surrounding the team is who will play in the midfield - Due to injuries N'Golo Kante a crucial player for their aspirations will not take part. Also Paul Pogba, Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku will miss out.

Based on what I've seen in recent games, it seem like Mattéo Guendouzi will probably start alongside Aurélien Tchouaméni as defensive midfielders. This is where it gets interesting - Antoine Griezmann who was part of the front three in the attack could now play from the midfield to have Giroud as the striker and give freedom to Kylian Mbappé to move across the attack.

Another option was having Griezmann and Mbappe up top and have an attacking midfielder behind them but without Nkunku the team now doesn't have someone to slot into that position.

Players to watch: Almost every player is worth watching, but keep an eye to see on Mbappé and Benzema up front, Tchouaméni in the midfield and how well the team defends as a unit.

Weakness: The midfield will be without its most important assets and while Tchouaméni, Guendouzi and Camavinga are good they will have much bigger roles to play this time around.

The attack has now also suffered a big setback without Benzema or Nkunku.

Bench options: Any center back that doesn't start, Eduardo Camavinga and Ousmane Dembélé are the top threats coming off the bench.

What to expect: If the team regains its form and are able to win their group they will go into the weaker side of the bracket which could have them face Poland, England, and Belgium in the knockout stage, meaning a Final is a very realistic possibility, but I haven't seen this team play well and currently have Denmark as favorites in this group, meaning France could end up facing Argentina in the Round of 16.

AUSTRALIA

The Socceroos' were the second to last team to qualify for the World Cup after beating Peru in dramatic fashion in the inter-continental playoff.

They are making their fight consecutive World Cup appearance - but just like 4 years ago the quality of players to aspire to reach the second round is just not there.

Team's philosophy: The team doesn't have a defined style, but under a 4-3-3 the team will try to press high and hit rivals on the counter, while they are capable of keeping possession of the ball and attack through the flanks, Australia is a team that is most comfortable sitting back and try to take advantage of the other team's mistakes.

Australia has two intriguing central midfielders in Ajdin Hrustic and Jackson Irvine that are capable of joining in the attack, the player to watch for in the final third is Awer Mabil. The striker who has played the most in recent games is Mitchell Duke but don't be surprised if Jamie Maclaren is the pick.

While the team doesn't generate a lot of excitement like some of its counterparts from the Asian confederation is a team that is disciplined and doesn't make many mistakes.

Players to watch: Mabll, Martin Boyle.

Weakness: The backline while stable is and works well as a unit, individually they struggle when facing talented.

Bench options: Midfielder Riley McGree, defender Fran Karasic.

What to Expect: Australia comes to the World Cup to be competitive in all three matches and will have a good chance to beat Tunisia but making out of the group seems quite a difficult task.

DENMARK

Coming off a strong performance at the Euro last year in which they reached the semifinals - Denmark is now looking to keep the momentum going in Qatar.

Now there are lofty expectations behind this team and that could play against them, but this is a solid team with a defined style of play and will be a difficult matchup against anyone.

Team's Philosophy: They play 4-3-3 - some of the key players in the starting 11 include Kasper Schmeichel, Andreas Christensen, Thomas Delaney and Christian Eriksen.

The team likes to play out of the back and keep possession of the ball. The wing backs Joakim Maehle and Andreas Kristensen often push forward. Hojberg and Delaney are great two-way midfielders capable of defending and help in the build-up.

The return of Christian Eriksen to the national team provides an emotional boost and add to the quality of the team.

The team has so many contributors that the bench will be crucial for their success. While I'm projecting Dolberg to start as the striker Yusuf Poulsen could easily get the nod to play instead.

Players to watch: In addition to those I have already mentioned I would also add Mikkel Dasgaard. During the 2020 Euro he played as a striker but has recently been used mostly on the left wing.

Weakness: There is no particular area of concern for the team, but there are two things I would keep an eye on, one is the team tends to struggle with teams that defend heavily - and that will be probably what they'll face against Australia and Tunisia, while they have a lot of quality they need space to operate to create chances. The other concern is that while they defend well as a unit, they tend to struggle to do so in open space.

Bench options: Whoever doesn't start between Dolberg and Poulsen. Others include Daniel Wass and Jens Stryger Larsen.

What to expect: This is a very solid team with a very well defined style and in Nations League they beat France twice, so they can most definitely go head-to-head with the defending champions. Denmark and France should be favored to advance and I would even put them as the favorites to win the group.

TUNISIA

Just like some of the perceived 'smaller teams' Tunisia relies on a disciplined team and a collective effort.

While they will likely sit back against stronger teams, Tunisia is a team that likes to keep possession and build-up play when facing teams of their same level.

Team's philosophy: Tunisia plays with a 4-3-3 which focuses on keeping their defensive shape. When it comes to the attack the wing backs don't move forward as much and the attacks relies mostly on its center midfielders and its front three,

This is how they may look:

Up front the team has dangerous players with captain Youssef Msakni, and veteran Wahbi Khazri flanking Seifeddine Jaziri up front.

Players to watch: Jaziri, Khazri

Weakness: The midfield doesn't seem to have a lot of depth and despite their defensive approach they don't excel at defending set-pieces. Other than in the attack the team lacks speed, and their defense willl see plenty of that in the group stage.

Bench options: Anis Ben Slimane on the wing and if Ferjani Sassi is not included on the starting line-up expect to see a lot of him coming off the bench. He has been a starter for a long time for the team, but in the lead-up to the tournament he hasn't started too often but that could change once things get underway.

What to expect: Don't be too surprised if they're competitive in the games against Australia and Denmark, France may have a bit too much fire power for them.

They will have a chance to beat Australia in their second game, but advancing looks like a really difficult task.