DENMARK - TUNISIA

Denmark could be the surprise of the tournament. I see them even able to fight for first place with France.

They are a rising force on the international stage, qualifying to Qatar winning 27 of 30 points from their group. In Nations League 4/6 wins, losing twice against leaders Croatia and beating France (deservedly and outplaying them). Denmark’s togetherness and organisation are key to their success but there is serious talent at their disposal too, with Eriksen, having settled in so effortlessly at Manchester United, the creative cog.

Simon Kjaer, Andreas Christensen and Joachim Anderson give the Danes sound footings and they like to utilise their wing-backs in forward areas with Joakim Maehle a particular threat.Defensive-minded midfielders Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Thomas Delaney offer Eriksen freedom to express himself and they have shown against Les Bleus that they can go toe to toe with the world champions.

They have an extremely cohesive unit that few other nations can match, majority of squad playing in one of Europe’s elite leagues and a strong spine gives star man Eriksen licence to roam.

Their only weak point in my opinion is just the lack of a solid goalscorer.

On the other hand Tunisia is one of the worst teams of the tournament. They won the Kirin Cup in summer beating Japan, Chile and Ghana but it was a friendly competition so we can’t take it seriously.

Achieved the ticket beating Mali in a first equal game where they won 0:1 followed by a goalless draw where they were totally outplayed.

There are some talented youngsters coming through the ranks. Manchester United’s Hannibal Mejbri, who has shone on loan at Birmingham, but it is the creative influence of Montpellier man Wahbi Khazri which remains key to their qualification prospects. Eight of Tunisia’s last 11 competitive fixtures have featured no more than one goal so they are capable of frustrating opponents for large periods but a shortage of attacking quality means they are unable to make inroads.

Anyway, they are lacking a reliable source of goals, Only a handful of players play in elite domestic competitions and yet to have made it out of the group stage in five previous World Cup attempts. There’re very low expectations with this team.

I’m expecting a tight game totally dominated by Denmark. Tunisia will just defend and be compact, trying to be a difficult team to break down but undoubtedly the Danish team have the quality and experience to do it.

ARGENTINA - SAUDI ARABIA

I’m expecting a very easy game for Argentina.

For me they are the main title contenders along with Brazil. Are unbeaten in the last 35 games (since 2019), and are looking to break Italy’s international record of 37 matches unbeaten during this World Cup.

They won the last Copa America ending a 28-year drought in a competition that was supposed to be a two-horse race alongside fellow South American giants Brazil. Beating Brazil in their own Maracana home in 2021 should have shed any lingering self.doubt for a team that had become accustomed to falling short, losing the final in four of the previous six Copa America finals as well as the 2014 World Cup final.

Messi is in great form and for the first time in many years, he has a great team alongside him. Now Messi isn’t flying solo and he has the teammates to help out, most notably defensively with Argentina conceding just twice in their last 14 matches which is a far cry from the shambles of the last World Cup when nine goals were shipped in four games.

They are Superb strength in depth in forward department, are arriving in great form and Messi’s magic has returned. We should see a strong performance in this first game against the worst team of the group and one of the worst in the World Cup.

Saudi Arabia is a very weak team. They have had longer to prepare than most teams, but it isn’t enough with such a poor squad. Furthermore, they are weakened due to the absence of their key player and best striker Al-Muwallad, suspended due to doping. Their squad is all home-based, none of the players are playing outside Saudi Arabian leagues, so they are lacking experience and pace. Even some of them like goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais is not first choice for Al-Hilal.

This should be a totally one-sided game. Saudi Arabia just don't have enough quality to stop Argentina, either in defense and attack. They don't have a solid defense to stop the talented argentinian attackers, while dont have either quality upfront to create some kind of danger here.

Argentina will dominate and should make a strong start of the tournament, showing why they are one of the main favorites to win the title. 2 goals difference is the absolute minimum I’m expecting here.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

丹麦-突尼斯

丹麦队可能成为本届比赛的惊喜。我认为他们甚至有能力与法国争夺第一。

他们在国际舞台上是一支崛起的力量，在小组30分中赢得27分，出线卡塔尔。在国家联赛中4胜6负，两次输给领跑者克罗地亚，击败法国(当之无愧，战胜了他们)。丹麦的团结和组织是他们成功的关键，但他们也有真正的天才，埃里克森毫不费力地在曼联安顿下来，是一个创造性的齿轮。

西蒙-凯尔、安德里亚斯-克里斯滕森和约阿希姆-安德森给了丹麦坚实的基础，他们喜欢在前场使用边后卫，尤阿基姆-梅尔是一个特别的威胁。防守型中场霍伊布厄格和德莱尼给了埃里克森表达自己的自由，他们在与蓝衣军团的比赛中已经证明了他们可以与世界冠军正面交锋。

他们拥有一支几乎没有其他国家能与之匹敌的极具凝聚力的队伍，大部分球员都效力于欧洲顶级联赛之一，强壮的脊梁骨给了球星埃里克森自由驰骋的许可。

在我看来，他们唯一的弱点就是缺少一个可靠的射手。

另一方面，突尼斯是本届杯赛中表现最差的球队之一。他们在夏天击败了日本、智利和加纳赢得了麒麟杯，但这是一场友谊赛，所以我们不能把它当回事。

在第一场比分相等的比赛中击败马里，他们0:1获胜，随后又以0比1的比分战平，他们完全被击败。

有一些有才华的年轻人在队伍中脱颖而出。曼联的汉尼拔·梅杰布里在租借到伯明翰时表现出色，但蒙彼利埃球员瓦比·卡兹里的创造性影响仍然是他们出线前景的关键。突尼斯最近11场比赛中有8场进球不超过1球，因此他们有能力在很长一段时间内挫败对手，但进攻质量的缺乏意味着他们无法取得突破。

无论如何，他们缺乏可靠的进球来源。只有少数球员参加了国内的精英比赛，而且在此前的五次世界杯尝试中都未能小组出线。人们对这支球队的期望很低。

我期待着一场由丹麦队完全控制的紧张的比赛。突尼斯将只是防守和紧凑，试图成为一支难以击溃的球队，但毫无疑问，丹麦有能力和经验做到这一点。

阿根廷-沙特阿拉伯

我希望阿根廷队能轻松取胜。

在我看来，他们和巴西都是夺冠的主要竞争者。在过去的35场比赛中(自2019年以来)保持不败，并希望打破意大利在本届世界杯期间保持的37场不败的国际纪录。

他们赢得了上一届美洲杯冠军，结束了长达28年的美洲杯荒。这一赛事本应是与同为南美豪门的巴西展开的两强竞争。2021年在马拉卡纳的主场击败巴西队，应该可以摆脱任何挥之不去的自我。这支球队已经习惯了输球，在此前六次美洲杯决赛和2014年世界杯决赛中，有四次都输掉了决赛。

梅西状态很好，多年来第一次，他身边有一支伟大的球队。现在梅西不是单飞了，他有队友帮忙，最明显的是在防守上，阿根廷队在过去14场比赛中只丢了2球，这与上届世界杯的混乱状态相去甚远，上届世界杯4场比赛丢了9球。

他们在前锋线的深度上拥有一流的实力，正以出色的状态到来，梅西的魔力又回来了。在第一场比赛中，我们应该会看到一场强劲的表现，对手是小组中最差的球队，也是世界杯上最差的球队之一。

沙特阿拉伯是一支非常弱的球队。他们的准备时间比大多数球队都要长，但对于这样一支糟糕的球队来说，这是不够的。此外，他们的关键球员和最好的前锋穆瓦拉德因服用兴奋剂而停赛，因此实力也被削弱。他们的阵容都是本土球员，没有球员在沙特阿拉伯以外的联赛踢球，所以他们缺乏经验和速度。甚至有些人，比如门将穆罕默德·奥维斯，也不是希拉勒的首选。

这应该是一场一边倒的比赛。无论是在防守还是进攻上，沙特阿拉伯都没有足够的实力来阻止阿根廷。他们没有坚实的防守来阻止阿根廷的天才攻击手，同时也没有任何质量的前场进攻来制造一些危险。

阿根廷队将占据主导地位，并应该在比赛中有一个强势的开始，这表明他们为什么是夺冠的主要热门之一。2球的差距是我期望的最小值。