World Cup Group D: French fancied as trio meet again

World Cup Group D odds, teams and fixtures

In our guide to World Cup Group D, we assess the prospects of France, Denmark, Australia and Tunisia as they bid to reach the last 16.

We also highlight the betting odds for each team and list the fixtures, including kick-off times and television coverage for all six matches.

France

France head to Qatar as the defending champions and ranked fourth in the world so are expected to cruise through to the knockout stage and are genuine contenders to retain their crown.

They were unbeaten in qualifying and have a squad which looks as strong as any in world football even without injured trio Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba.

Up front they have one of the best strikers in the game in Kylian Mbappe, while Olivier Giroud shows little sign of ageing and Antoine Griezmann was man of the match in the 2018 final.

Losing both Nations League games against Denmark on the way to finishing third in their group earlier this year gives hope to their rivals though, and Benzema’s late injury withdrawal is a major blow.

Denmark

Winning the group could prove important once the knockout stage begins, with the runners-up from Group D likely to face Argentina in the next round.

Denmark may not have the star names that France possess but often overachieve, having reached the semi-finals at the European Championship last summer.

Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest overshadowed their Euro campaign and his involvement in Qatar will have many neutrals cheering on the Danes.

Australia

Three of these teams were also drawn in the same group at the World Cup four years ago with Australia again facing France and Denmark.

The Socceroos were not disgraced in Russia, losing 2-1 to France and holding Denmark to a 1-1 draw so have shown they can be competitive.

They also lost to Peru in 2018 though and beating Tunisia in their second game will be the minimum requirement if they are to have any hope of progressing.

Aaron Mooy has been playing for Celtic in the Champions League this season and that experience could come in handy if he is to help Australia compete in midfield.

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Tunisia

Tunisia have never made it out of their World Cup group in five previous attempts and are understandably the outsiders here.

They have only ever managed two wins on the biggest stage so could struggle, especially given they were thrashed 5-1 by Brazil in a friendly in September.

The north Africans are usually solid in defence though and kept six successive clean sheets during a six-match unbeaten run earlier this year which included wins against Chile and Japan.

World Cup Group D fixtures

Nov 22: Denmark v Tunisia, 1pm, Education City Stadium, ITV

Nov 22: France v Australia, 7pm, Al Janoub Stadium, BBC

Nov 26: Tunisia v Australia, 10am, Al Janoub Stadium, ITV

Nov 26: France v Denmark, 4pm, Stadium 974, ITV

Nov 30: Tunisia v France, 3pm, Education City Stadium, BBC

Nov 30: Australia v Denmark, 3pm, Al Janoub Stadium, BBC

World Cup Group D winner odds

2/5 France

11/4 Denmark

14/1 Australia

14/1 Tunisia

Odds to qualify

1/14 France

2/5 Denmark

3/1 Australia

10/3 Tunisia

View the latest World Cup odds

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication