Fifa World Cup 2022: gutsy Australia squeeze past Tunisia to revive last 16 hopes
- Socceroos win a World Cup game for only the third time in their history with a dogged 1-0 victory over Tunisia on Saturday
- Striker Mitch Duke scores only goal in first half and Australia then desperately held on to silence Tunisia’s vociferous fans
Australia won a World Cup game for only the third time in their history with a dogged 1-0 victory over Tunisia on Saturday to revive their last-16 hopes.
Striker Mitch Duke scored the only goal of a tight game with a clever header in the first half and Australia then desperately held on to silence Tunisia’s vociferous fans.
Australia sit second in group D with three points from two games, having been well-beaten 4-1 by holders France in their tournament-opener.
The Socceroos face Denmark – who play France later on Saturday – in their final group game and the knockout round is in sight.
Their best World Cup performance came in 2006 when they also reached the last 16, in the days of Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka.
Graham Arnold’s Australia do not have players of that ilk but they have lots of heart and kicked off to deafening whistles in front of 42,000 at Al Janoub Stadium, where their fans were heavily outnumbered.