FIFA World Cup 2022 Group D: Dates And Schedule of Matches, Who Is The Favorite?

As the clock ticks, the countdown, and anticipation for the world's biggest football trophy get even more exciting. The stages are set and each country that made it through to the finals of the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar would aim to create history for themselves by clinching the prestigious title or progressing beyond their position in the tournament's history.

In Group D, Australia would seek to improve on their performance this time around, having qualified for the tournament on six different occasions. The second team in the group from the African continent would want to carve a niche for themselves in the grand finale. France and Denmark will lock horns once again, having had to share the spoils at the 2022 UEFA Nations League. For Les Blues, their 2018 success in the tournament will provide the required momentum. They will go into the tournament come November 2022 as the defending champions and obviously the team to beat in the group stage. 

The quadrennial International men's football tournament is programmed to hold from 20th November to 18th December 2022 in Qatar. This would be the first time that the world's prestigious football competition would be hosted by an Arab Nation.

As the stages are set, the dates and times have also been fixed for matches that will be played by countries in the fourth group. Study the table to capture a glance at the fixtures for Group D matches.

The Socceroos will hope to duplicate the global achievements of their Cricket world cup victories by bringing that success to the football stage as they make their sixth appearance at the FIFA World Cup. If they stand any chance of clinching the prestigious title, then they'll have to outperform their 2006 achievement, when they were snuffed out by Italy in the second round. 

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #39 (2022, 25th August);
• Regional Ranking: Asia #4;
• World Cup titles: #0;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): #6 (2018);
• How Qualified: Winners Playoffs AFC vs. CONMEBOL, 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers;
• Coach: Graham James Arnold (AUS) 2018 July till now;
• Star Players: Mat Ryan, Trent Sainsbury Rogic, Aaron Mooy, Martin Callie Boyle;

Christian Eriksen's remarkable comeback to the world of football has proven vital to the Danish side after his ordeal at the 2020 European Championship played in 2021 due to COVID-19. The rejuvenated Manchester United talisman would seek to help his national team surpass their 1998 World cup quarter-finals achievement. The Danish Dynamite appears confident in booking a place in the round of 16 not just as runner-up, but as group winners.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #10 (August 2022);
• Regional Ranking: Europe 8# (UEFA);
• World Cup Titles: #0;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): #6 (2018);
• How Qualified: Group F winners Europe 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers;
• Coach: Kasper Hjulmand (DEN) 2020 August till now;
• Star Players: Christian Dannemann Eriksen, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Mikkel Krogh Damsgaard, Joakim Maehle;

The one-time winner of the African nations cup will seek to attach the World Cup title to their trophy cabinet. Having been in the tournament on four different occasions in the past, the North African will look to surpass the group stage hurdle and progress to the final 16, which has eluded them on those occasions as they make their fifth appearance at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022. Against the prediction of bookmakers, the Carthage Eagles would aim at becoming the first African team to progress to the Semis or even winning the title.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #30 (2022, 25th August );
• Regional Ranking: Africa #3;
• World Cup Titles: #0;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): #5 (2018);
• How Qualified: Winners Third Round CAF 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers;
• Coach: Jalel Kadri (TUN) 2022 January till now;
• Star Players: Hannibal Mejbri, Wahbi Khazri, Ghaylene Chaalali, Ali Maaloul;

Les Blues, as they are fondly called, will hope to retain the trophy they clinched in Russia back in 2018 as they'll hope to become the first group to have back-to-back successes in the World Cup. More also, France would wish to avoid a recurrence of their shock exit at the 2002 campaign in Korea/Japan, where they failed to scale through the group stage even after starting as the defending champions. The two times World Cup champions will depend on their star-studded team, who are capable of turning things around in their favor any day, any time.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: #4 (2022, 25th August);
• Regional Ranking: Europe #2;
• World Cup Title: #2;
• World Cup Appearances (Last): #15 (2018);
• How Qualified: Winners Group D UEFA 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers;
• Coach: Didier Claude Deschamps (FRA) 2012 July till date;
• Star Players: Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, Ngolo Kante;

The contest of which teams will make it through to the "round of 16" stage will surely be between the two European teams, no disrespect to Australia and Tunisia. Though Denmark got the better of France in their last two outings, the latter will be tipped by bookmakers to come out top of Group D as a result of the depth of their squad and a good history in the tournament. Denmark may have to settle for the second position. If Tunisia and Australia get their tactics right, then we should be ready for a major upset.