The 2022 FIFA World Cup is full of surprises. After Argentina and Germany, 2018 World Cup champions France suffered a massive defeat in their Group D clash against Tunisia. As a result, France were beaten in a World Cup match for the first time since the 2014 quarter-final (0-1 v Germany), ending a run of nine games without defeat.
The match started with France making nine changes, with the likes of Matteo Guendouzi, Kingsley Coman and Jordan Veretout given chances to shine. France was quickly down on the backfoot as the Tunisian players took advantage of the low chemistry of the French team. They attacked relentlessly and came quite close to beating the French defence.
The match’s turning point came in the 58th minute when Wahbi Khazri, Tunisia’s star striker, cut through the French defence to land the ball into the net. The goal shocked the entire French team. However, they tried to make a comeback by bringing their first-choice players, including Rafael Varane, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Greizmann and Ousmane Dembele.
With the clock ticking towards the ninth minute of added-on time, Griezmann looked like he’d broken Tunisian hearts by firing in a loose ball in the box. However, a VAR review was eventually triggered, and the referee was ordered to the pitchside screen to review Griezmann being two yards offside from the original ball.
With this ruled-out goal, Tunisia had one of their most famous World Cup wins. But the FIFA #30 ranked team crashed out of the tournament as Australia defeated Denmark and occupied the second qualifying spot in Group D.
