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Poland skipper Robert Lewandowski failed to break his World Cup duck when he saw a second-half penalty saved in a goalless but entertaining draw with Mexico in their opening Group C game at Stadium 974 on Tuesday.

Lewandowski earned the penalty after a VAR check 11 minutes into the second half when Hector Moreno tugged at his shirt in the box. But the Polish striker, who has never scored at the World Cup, saw his shot saved by goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

In a temporary arena built using 974 recycled shipping containers that overlooks the Arabian Gulf, a sea of Mexico fans in green outnumbered their Polish counterparts and they made their presence felt in the 40,000-capacity venue.

A flowing game of few fouls but fewer chances came to life around the half-hour mark when Alexis Vega saw his header fly wide before Jesus Gallardo was denied with a last-man tackle when he had an open goal at his mercy two minutes later.

Mexico had the bulk of the possession but without Raul Jimenez spearheading the attack, Henry Martin struggled to get on the end of chances in the box.

At the other end, Poland failed to get Lewandowski involved as the Barcelona striker – who has scored 18 goals for the Spanish club this season – received little service as both keepers finished the first half without having to make a save.

With Poland losing the midfield battle, coach Czeslaw Michniewicz made a halftime substitution by hauling off Nicola Zalewski and bringing on central midfielder Krystian Bielik, which allowed Piotr Zielinski to play in an advanced role.

The tactical change seemed to work initially as Poland began creating chances and eventually won the penalty which Lewandowski shot low but Ochoa guessed correctly and dived to his left to deny the skipper.

Not to be outdone by Ochoa’s brilliance in goal, Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny also underlined his credentials moments later when he reacted quickly to change direction and deny Martin’s glancing header that was on target.

Mexico coach Gerardo Martino replaced Martin and brought on Jimenez with 20 minutes to go in the second half but the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker, who is returning from a long injury lay-off, failed to have a shot on goal.

The result leaves Saudi Arabia as group leaders following their stunning upset of Argentina, one of the pre-tournament favourites, earlier in the day.

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Substitute Andreas Cornelius hit the post and Denmark had a late penalty appeal turned down, while Tunisia wasted two clear chances in a 0-0 draw in their World Cup Group D opener at Education City Stadium on Tuesday.

Tunisia were roared on by their sizeable following in the 42,925 crowd, whose deafening whistles and roars gave energy to their side and helped secure what had seemed an unlikely point before kickoff, despite the fact they are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 internationals.

Denmark thought they should have had a penalty in stoppage time for handball that was checked at the VAR screen by referee Cesar Arturo Ramos, but he instead gave a free kick to Tunisia for a foul in the build-up.

“We played too nervously and too slow, and we didn’t find ourselves in the first half,” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand told DR. “There was a period when we got into it but we were never calm and comfortable, that came later in the game. There’s no doubt we played under par.

“It (qualifying from the group) has become complicated but it’s not over. We are underway with the tournament, but our heads would have been a little higher with a better result.”

Tunisia played with a tempo they will find hard to maintain through the group stages, but were good value for their point and showed a resilience that will be pleasing for coach Jalel Kadri.

Denmark would have hoped to create more chances, but their best came late in the second half when Cornelius only had to nod the ball over the line at the back post, but instead flicked it onto the woodwork.

Tunisia, who this week had spoken of their pride at qualifying for World Cup in an Arab country, were fired up from the first whistle, celebrating each tackle like a goal, and had two excellent chances to open the scoring.

The first fell to Denmark-based Issam Jebali when he found himself one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel, but could not beat the Danish goalkeeper, who made an excellent, instinctive save.

The second saw Aissa Laidouni race clear from his own half, but as he approached the Denmark penalty area, he hesitated and opted for a pass that was not on rather than advancing another 10 yards and having an effort on goal.

In the context of the game, both might look at it as two points dropped, but Tunisia will certainly be the happier given the low level of expectation place on them – from outside their camp at least – going into the tournament.

They will face Australia next on Saturday, a game they will have targeted as their most winnable in the group, while Denmark meet defending champions France behind the points tally they would have set themselves at this stage.

There were other chances in the game as well. Right back Mohamed Drager saw his shot from 25-yards deflected off defender Andreas Christensen and go just wide with Schmeichel rooted to the spot.

Christian Eriksen was pulling the strings for the Danes but they struggled at times to get him onto the ball. When he did find a pocket of space just outside the Tunisian box, his shot was well saved by goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen.

“It was important to come into the game with a lot of determination,” Laidouni said. “This is the World Cup, it’s the most important competition in the world.

“The fans in Qatar are amazing and it was important to show them that we are determined and we want to give everything.”

Hjulmand will be sweating on a knee injury to midfielder Thomas Delaney that forced him off in the first half.

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Saudi Arabia surprise Argentina with a 2-1 win in Group C opener at the Lusail Stadiun.

After Argentina took an early first half lead through a Lionel Messi penalty, the Saudis hit hard early in the second half.

Goals from Saleh Alshehri and Salem Aldawsari eight minutes after halftime were enough to seal the match for the Asian side.

Having shown their ruthlessness at one end, the Green Falcons demonstrated a ruggedness at the other, holding a stellar Argentina front line at bay to secure only their fourth World Cup win in history and throw the group wide open.

Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina came into the tournament among the favourites, on the back of a 36-game unbeaten run that included winning the 2021 Copa America.

They now have it all to do to keep alive their hopes of a first global triumph since 1986 and give Messi a fitting ending to what is very likely his World Cup swansong.

They face Mexico on Saturday, while Saudi Arabia take on Poland.

Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has described their opening World Cup group game against Ghana as the ‘most difficult’ in the competition.

Portugal and Ghana face off on Thursday November 24, 2022, in the first game of Group H at Stadium 974 in Doha.

Speaking about Portugal’s chances of winning the World Cup, the 37-year-old noted that the team must focus their attention on winning their first game against Ghana, which he described as the ‘most difficult’.

“I believe our national team has tremendous potential to win the World Cup. We will see. I believe we can. I have that hope, that belief, ” he began.

“But like these competitions always teach us; we must think calmly. We must think and focus on the first group game. We must think about the Ghana game which is the most difficult one.

“We must start well, gain some confidence and we will go from there,” he said.

Denmark and Tunisia kick off their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign when they go head to head at the Education City Stadium on Tuesday.

Both nations will be looking to claim an early advantage in Group D before group rivals France and Australia square off later in the day.

Match preview

Having won four of their previous five World Cup opening games, Denmark will head into Tuesday in sky-high spirits as they look to kick off their campaign with a bang.

Kasper Hjulmand’s men secured their spot in Qatar thanks to a near-perfect qualification campaign, where they finished top of Group F after picking up 27 points from their 10 matches.

The Danes won each of their first nine qualifying matches, scoring 16 goals and keeping five clean sheets, before suffering a 2-0 loss against runners-up Scotland in the group finale on November 15.

They followed this with a solid run in the UEFA Nations Lweue, where they picked up 12 points from a possible 18 to finish second in Group A1, one point off group winners Croatia and seven above third-placed France.

Having also enjoyed an impressive performance at the Euro 2020, where they reached the semi-finals before falling short against England in extra-time, Denmark have shown that they can compete at the highest level.

Denmark will fancy their chances of not only securing a place in the knockout stages but also topping Group D, having prevailed over France when both sides squared off twice in the Nations League earlier this year.

On the other hand, Tunisia are making a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup after qualifying for the tournament in 2018, which saw their eight-year absence come to an end.

However, the Carthage Eagles’ participation in Russia was short-lived, as they picked up three points from their three matches to finish third and suffer another group-stage exit from the tournament.

Tasked with guiding Tunisia to a first-ever knockout-stage appearance, manager Jalel Kadri has his job cut out after being drawn against France, Denmark and Australia for a place in the next round.

The North Africans had endured a shaky qualifying campaign, where they finished two points above runners-up Equatorial Guinea in Group B before narrowly claiming a 1-0 aggregate victory over Mali in the two-legged playoff back in March.

Since their victory over Eric Chelle’s side, Tunisia have put together a fine run of results, claiming five wins and one draw from their subsequent seven matches across all competitions — a run which sees them sit top of Group J of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The 2014 AFCON champions, who are ranked 30th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will head into Tuesday in sky-high spirits following a 2-0 victory over Iran in last week’s warm-up friendly.

Team News

Denmark finished with the joint-best defensive record in the World Cup qualifiers, where they conceded just three goals in 10 matches, and Hjulmand will hope for another defensive show of class from his side in Qatar.

That being said, we expect the 50-year-old to name a back four of Daniel Wass, Joachim Andersen, Barcelona man Andreas Christensen and full-back Joakim Maehle, shielding veteran Kasper Schmeichel in goal.

Manchester United summer signing Christian Eriksen, who is third in the nation’s all-time appearance chart with 117 senior caps to his name, will be tasked with making things at the centre of the park, alongside Thomas Delaney and Tottenham man Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Eriksen has racked up 39 goals for the Danes and should add extra threat in the attack, where Kasparov Dolberg, Mikkel Damsgaard and Andreas Skov Olsen, who has nine goals involvements in the Belgian top flight this season, will be pushing for starting roles.

Tunisia have named 26 players to represent the nation in Qatar, including Lorient defender Montassar Talbi, Youssef Msakni, who has 17 international goals, and Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri.

However, the Carthage Eagles’ squad is headlined by 31-year-old forward Wahbi Khazri, who is second in the nation’s goalscoring chart with 24 goals in 72 appearances.

The Montpellier man will spearhead the attack on Tuesday alongside Msakni and 21-year-old Anis Ben Slimane, while we expect a back four of Mohamed Drager, Montassar Talbi, Dylan Bronn Ali Abdi, with Aymen Dahmen in goal.

Denmark possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Wass, Andersen, Christensen, Maehle; Delaney, Eriksen, Emile Hojbjerg; Olsen, Dolberg, Damsgaard

Tunisia possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Drager, Talbi, Bronn, Abdi; Skhiri, Chaaleli, Laidouni; Slimane, Msakni, Khazri