Australia’s footballers saved their chance to reach the round of 16 thanks to ruthless efficiency.
In the tricky but successful World Cup debut of German referee Daniel Siebert, the “Socceroos” celebrated their first win in a World Cup finals since 2010 with a 1-0 (1-0) win over Tunisia.
Mitchell Duke (23rd) headed the goal of the outsider in the packed Al-Janoub Stadium, who held all the trumps in the final Group D game against Denmark on Wednesday (16:00 CET/Magenta TV). Tunisia also still has theoretical chances.
Siebert kept his cool in front of a crowd of 41,823 in the Al-Wakrah cauldron, where the Tunisian fans created a heated atmosphere. The 38-year-old also acted as a mediator again and again and made all the important decisions correctly.
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“It’s a hectic game, and it always requires the referee to have a high presence. He does it excellently,” praised Siebert’s Bundesliga colleague Patrick Ittrich on “MagentaTV” during the break.
Siebert immediately demanded
The Tunisian fans often whistled at the Australians and shot Siebert in the process. But he stayed cool when the North Africans complained in front of him, arms waving.
The Berliner had to wait a long time for his World Cup premiere. Once in the limelight, however, he was immediately challenged. In a game with a lot of duels and nods, Siebert pursued a generous line. In the fifth minute he stopped the game for the first time because of a foul by Mohamed Dräger. In the 26th minute he rightly picked up the first yellow card against Tunisia’s Aissa Laidouni.
The spectators had already seen the first goal. A deflected cross landed on Duke’s head, the professional from the second Japanese division nodded off in the far post. Curious: Cologne’s Ellyes Skhiri got stuck on Siebert’s heels and fell in the scene while running back, but the referee was not to blame – and the situation was not decisive anyway.
Ryan holds zero for Australia
The game got better as time went on because Tunisia invested more and also created chances. Former Bundesliga pro Dräger (41′) was blocked from scoring, captain Youssef Msakni (45’+2) should have scored after a sharp cross to equalise.
Tunisia also did a lot more for the game after the break. Msakni (72′) failed with a shot by Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, who also got to do well in the closing stages. The men in front were initially waiting for a counterattack, but defensively they increasingly started to swim – not least because their strength was dwindling.
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