Robert Lewandowski broke his World Cup duck on Saturday and explained his emotional celebration was due to the possibility of this being his last finals.

This is only Lewandowski's second World Cup with Poland, but he is now 34 years old and did not score a single goal at Russia 2018.

That barren run continued in the opening match against Mexico, in which the Barcelona forward saw a penalty saved.

But Lewandowski assisted Piotr Zielinski's strike against Saudi Arabia and grabbed the second himself in a vital 2-0 win to move Poland top of Group C.

The former Bayern Munich man was clearly overcome with emotion as he embraced his team-mates.

"The older I get, the more emotional I get," Lewandowski said. "I'm aware when it comes to the World Cup, it might be my last World Cup."

He added: "When you play for the national squad, you have to focus on the results, but some per cent of my identity also wanted me to have good statistics.

"I always wanted to score at the World Cup, and this dream came true."

Poland coach Czeslaw Michniewicz said of Lewandowski's emotion: "I was not surprised, because I know how deeply he lived the last match. The whole team supported him a lot.

"We are very happy together with him, just as we were very sad together with him after the penalty."

Michniewicz added "one player will not win the match alone", but that was an assessment Herve Renard disagreed with, as the Saudi Arabia coach attributed Poland's victory to Wojciech Szczesny.

A penalty save from Salem Al Dawsari at 1-0 kept Poland in front in a game Saudi Arabia controlled for long periods.

Despite the result, Renard is not giving up hope, saying: "We are still alive, so we'll play until the last second of our World Cup. If that's next time or another time, we won't give up."

Saudi Arabia are second in the pool, a point behind Poland, ahead of Argentina playing Mexico later on Saturday.

"I hope [the Saudi fans] won't give up," Renard said. "When you are fans, you need to support your team when it's a fantastic day. But you also need to support your team to make history in the third game. I would like to see one more time a green stadium."

Canada's 1-0 defeat to Belgium was "statistically", according to John Herdman, "a winning performance" – and it is easy to see why he thinks that.

Canada attempted 22 shots, twice as many as their previous World Cup record (11 versus USSR in 1986), with their attempts worth a combined 2.6 expected goals.

Belgium's chances were worth 0.8 xG, but they crucially scored through Michy Batshuayi.

Canada still have not scored a World Cup goal from 50 shots. No team have played more finals matches (four) without ever finding the net, while only Bolivia have previously failed to register in their first five such fixtures.

Another "winning performance" against Croatia will count for little if they cannot end that drought.

"It's those behaviours that we'll continue to work on," coach Herdman said. "That's what the players see in the review meeting [after the Belgium game].

"And we've got to close some gaps going into this meeting with Croatia, who are a hell of a team."

That more measured praise of Croatia was slightly at odds with Herdman's emotions immediately post-match, when he called on his Canada players to "'F'" their next opponents.

"The gentleman expressed himself that way, that is his right," responded Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic. "I won't dwell on that. We have to speak on the field.

"Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves. I just don't know how nice it is to say something like that. I will discuss it with the players. It can only motivate us."

It is easy to see why Herdman might have been confident, though, if he had taken in Croatia's goalless draw against Morocco.

The 2018 finalists had just five shots in that match, their lowest total in a single World Cup contest. They averaged 16.1 shots per game in Russia.

Still, Canada have lost each of their first four World Cup games and will be eliminated if that sequence continues against Croatia.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Croatia – Josko Gvardiol

Not many Croatia players stood out against Morocco, but Gvardiol was one. He set Croatia World Cup records for passes attempted (115) and completed (102), although he might have more work to do defensively in this encounter based on Canada's first display. It is an opportunity to impress for a man linked with a host of Europe's leading clubs.

Canada – Jonathan David

Alphonso Davies may have passed up Canada's clearest chance from the penalty spot, but David will similarly rue a wasteful opening display. He had seven shots against Belgium, all from inside the box, but missed the target with each of them. It was only the second example since 1966 of a player taking all of his seven shots from inside the area yet failing to trouble the goalkeeper (also Italy's Paolo Barison against North Korea in 1966).

PREDICTION

Even in defeat, Canada were one of the more impressive performers of the opening round of matches, but they are still facing the finalists from the last World Cup – and the supercomputer's forecast bears that out.

Croatia are 47.0 per cent favourites, according to Stats Perform's AI model, with Canada given a 27.0 per cent chance and the draw rated a shade more unlikely at 26.0 per cent.

Graham Arnold might be targeted by better-known clubs if Australia reach the World Cup second round, but the coach has revealed his heart is set on rejuvenating NAC Breda.

Now aged 59, Arnold was a prolific striker with the Dutch club in the 1990s and has been disheartened to see NAC struggle in recent seasons.

Previously mainstays of the top flight, NAC sit 15th in the second tier, known as the Eerste Divisie, after winning just five of 16 games this term.

They are currently bossed by former Leeds United defender Robert Molenaar, with ex-Netherlands striker Pierre van Hooijdonk recently appointed to a technical role.

Arnold told Voetbal International: "I would love to return to NAC. The negative energy has to get out and the culture has to change. It's about winning again. Hopefully I can try it someday.

"I just want to bring the club back to the Eredivisie. You know, I was there in 2018 by invitation. I stayed at the bar in the second half. It sucked.

"I just couldn't take it any more. Breda deserves a club at the highest level. NAC should play against Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV. Not against Jong FC Utrecht.

"I still follow every game from Australia and every week I get angry when I see the result."

He added: "My heart is with NAC. It's my club and Breda is my city."

Arnold, a former striker for the Australia national team, has spent almost all his coaching career in his home country, having spells in charge of Sydney FC, Northern Spirit and Central Coast Mariners.

His Australia team were 1-0 winners against Tunisia on Saturday, pepping up hopes of reaching the last 16 following a 4-1 defeat to France in their opening game.

The Socceroos complete their group-stage campaign when they tackle Denmark on Wednesday.

Didier Deschamps recalled Raphael Varane to his starting XI for France's World Cup clash with Denmark.

Varane, who has not played since he was forced off with an injury in Manchester United's Premier League game with Chelsea on October 22, was one of three changes made to the France team for Saturday's game in Doha.

Deschamps confirmed on Friday that Varane had been fit to feature in the opening game, and had trained without any issues prior to France's second match of the tournament.  The former Real Madrid centre-back replaced Ibrahima Konate in France's XI.

Les Bleus head into the match at Stadium 974 knowing that victory would ensure their progression to the last 16.

The holders thrashed Australia 4-1 in their opening Group D game, though suffered another injury blow in that match, with Lucas Hernandez sustaining a serious knee injury.

Hernandez was replaced by his brother, Theo, and the latter started at left-back against the Danes, with Barcelona defender Jules Kounde replacing Bayern Munich's Benjamin Pavard at right-back.

Olivier Giroud will become France's all-time leading goalscorer the next time he finds the net, and the Milan forward was given the nod up top, leading a line that also included Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann.

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand made four changes.

Thomas Delaney was injured in the draw with Tunisia on Tuesday and makes way for Mikkel Damsgaard, while Victor Nelsson replaced Simon Kjaer in the defence and Jesper Lindstrom came in for Andreas Skov Olsen.

Andreas Cornelius missed a fantastic chance to seal the points for Denmark against Tunisia, hitting the post from a yard out, but he was handed a start in place of Kasper Dolberg.

Hansi Flick unequivocally dismissed the suggestion Germany lost their World Cup opener against Japan because they were distracted by the controversy surrounding the OneLove campaign.

Germany were one of several European teams planning to have their captains wear the OneLove armband to highlight discrimination and human rights abuses by World Cup host nation Qatar, where homosexuality is criminalised.

In response, FIFA threatened to apply "sporting sanctions" to the teams involved, who all subsequently backtracked on their commitment to wear the armbands.

Germany felt FIFA was attempting to "silence" them, and they responded by holding their hands over their mouths while lining up for a team photo before the match against Japan.

After they ended up losing to the Samurai Blue, some Germany critics tried to link their defeat to the idea they were distracted by their moral stance.

When Flick was asked if that was the case ahead of Sunday's pivotal clash with Spain, his response was blunt.

"No," he said followed by a long pause. "Not at all."

Flick was surprisingly attending Saturday's pre-match press conference alone.

Teams are contracted to attend the events with at least their head coach and one player, and they can be fined if they fail to adhere to those rules.

However, Germany are based in the very north of the country near Al Ruwais, meaning any player attending a press conference will be away from training for approximately three hours.

Given the crucial nature of Sunday's encounter, Flick was simply unwilling to compromise the team's preparations by allowing a player to attend, even if it means the German Football Association (DFB) potentially copping a fine.

"I came by myself to the press conference because we didn't want any player to spend almost three hours driving. We don't expect any player to drive for so long. It's a long drive," he said.

"It's a very important match, so everyone, all 26 players are important [for training], that's why we didn't want to take a player with us. They should now prepare for the training.

"I think we could have done [the press conference] in our media centre as well, that is really good, it would have been better. But we have to accept this."

Earlier on Saturday, Spain coach Luis Enrique said Germany were the team most similar to La Roja at the World Cup in terms of their style of play.

Flick concurred, and although Spain thrashed Costa Rica 7-0 on matchday one, the Germany coach chose to remain optimistic as he urged his team to be courageous at Al Bayt Stadium.

Asked about Luis Enrique's assessment, Flick added: "I can only confirm this. I think both teams, if you look at systems, it's one-to-one in each position, and this is what we tell our players, to be in position to win the duels.

"Spain, of course, is a team who have always played the 4-3-3 formation like Barcelona, regardless of their opponent. They then have clear automatic moves and we need to find a way against it, we have a plan and we hope to implement it.

"The main focus for me has been the football, I think I'm convinced about what we want to do, how we want to play football.

"[Germany's situation] could've been avoided, but we still stick to our guns because we have the quality. We can implement what we want.

"This is what it's all about, being brave, believing in our quality and going into the match like that."

Robert Lewandowski ended his wait for a first World Cup goal as Poland took a significant step towards reaching the knockout stage for the first time in 36 years by beating Saudi Arabia 2-0 on Saturday.

Talisman Lewandowski's penalty failure against Mexico had denied Poland an opening win, but he and they made amends at Education City Stadium, toppling Argentina's conquerors to blow Group C wide open.

Although Saudi Arabia were largely more impressive than in their smash-and-grab defeat of Argentina, they again fell behind and this time could not recover – the latest episode of spot-kick drama making a hero of Wojciech Szczesny after he denied Salem Al Dawsari.

Either side of that save, Lewandowski assisted the opening goal for Piotr Zielinski and belatedly netted a breakthrough strike to make sure of a win that moves Poland to four points ahead of themselves taking on Lionel Messi and Co.

Matty Cash raced onto an incisive pass six minutes before the break and squared to Lewandowski, whose first touch took him away from goal before he cut the ball back for Zielinski's clinical finish.

The response might have been swift as a VAR review granted Saleh Al Shehri a soft penalty following contact from Krystian Bielik, but Szczesny sensationally repelled Al Dawsari's spot-kick and then – even more spectacularly – Mohammed Al Burayk's follow-up.

Szczesny had to come to Poland's rescue again 10 minutes after the restart, blocking with his legs from Al Dawsari, and Feras Al Brikan and Mohammed Kanno each blazed wildly off target.

Poland squandered chances to put the game to bed as first Arkadiusz Milik and then Lewandowski worked the frame of the goal, but the Barcelona man eventually got his goal after pinching possession from Abdulelah Al Malki and finishing calmly.

What does it mean? Poland take pole position

Even in victory, Czeslaw Michniewicz's men were not especially impressive, although Lewandowski would have felt the weight of the world lift off his shoulders with a first goal in his fifth finals match.

Vitally, Poland also have a star performer at the other end of the pitch. Their strong position in this group is chiefly down to their back-to-back clean sheets, now having kept three in a row stretching back to 2018 – matching their best such sequence.

Poland penalty heroics

Poland have now faced five penalties at World Cups, yet three of them have been saved. Szczesny's stop sees him join Jan Tomaszewski, who kept out two at the 1970 tournament.

The save from Al Burayk on the rebound was truly remarkable, while Szczesny had also early made a sharp stop from Kanno and would later frustrate Al Dawsari again.

Tempers boil over

Played in front of a raucous – primarily Saudi – crowd, a kind observer might call this encounter "competitive". Players from both sides thundered into challenges, occasionally with both arms and legs.

In the opening 30 minutes, the sides shared more yellow cards (four) than shots (three). By half-time, there had been five bookings – the most cards at that stage of a World Cup game since the famously feisty 2010 final.

It seemed inevitable there would be a red card eventually, but it never came.

What's next?

Poland must still play their toughest fixture on paper, taking on an Argentina side who will need to win. Saudi Arabia remain in contention ahead of facing Mexico at the same time on Wednesday.

James Maddison has joined team training with England for the first time since the World Cup began, having missed the Three Lions' first two fixtures in Qatar due to a knee injury.

Three years after winning his only senior cap to date, Maddison claimed a place in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad after enjoying a fine run of form with Leicester City.

Maddison's tally of 11 Premier League goal contributions this season (seven goals, four assists) is only bettered by four players – Erling Haaland (21), Harry Kane (13), Kevin De Bruyne and Ivan Toney (both 12).

However, the attacking midfielder sat out England's first two Group B games – a 6-2 win over Iran and a goalless draw with the United States – after sustaining a knee injury in Leicester's most recent match against West Ham.

As England began their preparations for Tuesday's meeting with Wales on Saturday, Maddison played a full part in group training for the first time since the team arrived in Qatar.

"Fourteen players are out for today's session in Al Wakrah, with those who started yesterday's game taking part in a recovery session," read a fitness update issued by England.

"James Maddison returns to training following his rehabilitation, while Jordan Henderson is working indoors on an individual programme."

England lead the way in Group B ahead of the final set of first-round fixtures, and they will qualify for the last 16 providing they avoid a four-goal defeat against Rob Page's team.

The Three Lions have never faced another British side at the World Cup, but they are unbeaten in three such games at the European Championships (W1 D1 v Scotland, W1 v Wales).

Barcelona head coach Xavi wants to sign Brazilian teenager Endrick, revealing he has held talks with the player and his father.

The 16-year-old Palmeiras forward is widely considered to be one of the finest prospects in South American football, drawing the attention of some of Europe's biggest sides.

Endrick's father will reportedly travel to Spain to tour Real Madrid's facilities later this month, but a fight is expected for his services, with Barcelona's own interest now being confirmed.

"We've been talking to his father and also directly to the player. I explained the project we have in Barcelona," Xavi told ESPN.

"We want talent and he's a talent, able to make a difference. He can score goals, he can dribble, he's got a brutal ability to make a difference.

"He's the kind of player we need. He already knows the project we have in Barcelona and we are talking.

"I hope he becomes our player. It's up to him. It always depends on the player. Usually, a player will end up playing where he wants to play. So, it's a very personal decision of Endrick."

While Endrick's future lies away from South America, any club looking to sign him will not be able to move him to Europe until he is 18 due to FIFA regulations.

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has lashed out at World Cup organisers and Canada boss John Herdman, stating his side "deserve respect".

The 2018 World Cup finalists opened their Qatar 2022 campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco in Group F, which kicked off at 1pm local time on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of his side's next match however, Dalic hit out at FIFA, suggesting his team should have been handed a cooler, more favourable late-day slot for their match as incumbent runners-up.

"The fact that we played the first match at 1pm disturbed our rhythm," he stated. "I attribute our lack of energy in that first match to the early kick-off.

"The fact that Croatia plays at 1pm is not respectful. England, Spain, France and Brazil are not playing at that time. We are the runners-up in the [last] World Cup. This is not the attitude towards Croatia that it should be."

Dalic previously struck a more neutral tone over opposite number Herdman's comments, where he said his team must "F" Croatia after a narrow defeat to Belgium, despite arguably outplaying their European opponents.

However, he proved more angered by the words this time around, reinforcing again: "Croatia deserves respect from everyone. We have earned it with our games and results. 

"I will not pay attention to any comments. We will get ready and play football and be dignified towards Canada as well as towards others. But we deserve respect."

Herdman, meanwhile, is relishing the chance to face Croatia, adding: "It's a hell of a test for this team. We are excited. We have a hell of a match coming."

Luis Enrique has warned Spain against complacency heading into the mouth-watering World Cup showdown with Germany, who he feels will "hammer" La Roja if they are overconfident.

The 2010 champions launched their campaign in Qatar with a comprehensive 7-0 rout of Costa Rica on Wednesday, scoring seven goals in a single match at the finals for the first time.

La Roja could secure their last-16 place with a match to spare with victory over Germany, who they steamrollered 6-0 when the sides last met in the Nations League two years ago.

Following their shock defeat by Japan, Hansi Flick's side would subsequently be eliminated at the first hurdle for the second successive finals should Costa Rica fail to beat the Samurai Blue elsewhere in Group E.

Addressing the media at his pre-match press conference, Luis Enrique said: "We tried to manage the [Costa Rica] victory with all normality.

"It was resounding and that gives confidence, but we shouldn't have too much confidence. We face an opponent that will hammer us if we are overconfident.

"It's a great challenge. They've won a World Cup four times. We respect them greatly, they've great players and history is undeniable. 

"Germany are a very good team, so much mobility. If we can control that, great. Otherwise, I have to think about every single element."

He added: "But we are convinced we can beat Germany. We don't want a crazy open match because if they play a high block, we may take too many risks.

"There are many things we have to find out, but we need to follow our principles, which are very similar to theirs."

Meanwhile, forward Dani Olmo, who opened the scoring in the Costa Rica victory, urged his team-mates not to take Germany's defeat by Japan for granted, and focus on their own performance levels.

"Of course, they're under pressure, they need to win after loss against Japan," he said. "But we know they are one of the best in the world, and you cannot put them down after one game.

"It's a final for them, they need to win to get to next round, but we focus on our journey because we are through if we win.

"Hansi a great coach, he wants to dominate the game, he showed this in Bayern. 

"Most of their players play for Bayern, so we know the style, and they know us well, so we have to focus on our game."

Coach Graham Arnold wants his Australia players to swiftly forget their 1-0 World Cup win over Tunisia and turn their attention to securing qualification for the knockout stage against Denmark.

Mitchell Duke scored the only goal, glancing home Craig Goodwin's deflected cross in the 23rd minute, before the Socceroos withstood some concerted Tunisia pressure to secure their first win at a World Cup in 12 years and first clean sheet since 1974.

The win moves Australia on to three points and with renewed hope of advancing out of Group D. Next up on Wednesday is a clash with the Danes and that has already become the focus of Arnold's attention.

Asked about his approach to that game, he said: "We've got to see what the result is tonight [between France and Denmark] but nothing will change, we’ll focus on ourselves and getting ourselves right.

"I am very proud but we've achieved nothing. We can talk after about one win and that it hasn't been done for 12 years and all that stuff.

"We are here to go as far as we can go. I don't want the players sitting up all night looking at social media, we need to recover well and get ready for Denmark."

The goal was a special moment for Duke and he celebrated by making a J sign with his fingers to son Jaxson, who was watching on from the stands. Television images showed his son replying in kind.

Duke said: "I spoke to my son and told him I was going to score – you have to have that belief that you are going to score in every match. I told my son that I was going to share that moment with him."

The 31-year-old, who plays in Japan with second division side Fagiano Okayama, was reunited with Jaxson and daughter Chloe at the start of November and admitted it was difficult being apart from his family.

"Definitely, when the final whistle went and I was interviewed by TV, I was trying to hold back the tears," he added. "I have been on my own a lot over the last couple of years and there has been a lot of sacrifice. It's the best feeling in the world."

Tunisia must now beat defending champions France on Wednesday and hope other results go their way if they are to go through.

Coach Jalel Kadri bemoaned his side's lack of cutting edge but insisted all was not lost.

He said: "During the first half, we did not perform the way we wanted to, Australia led us into playing a style we did not like.

"They dominated the game, created one chance and scored and unfortunately we could not equalise. We changed tactics two or three times in the second half and created four or five chances but we were not clinical enough. They were very efficient in converting their chance.

"The World Cup has a surprise for everyone, even the larger teams have been beaten by the underdogs. We were not expecting to lose [to Australia] but we have one game to go and we will play our hearts out."

Youssoufa Moukoko is keen to commit his future to Borussia Dortmund by signing a new contract after making his World Cup debut for Germany.

Moukoko has scored a team-high six Bundesliga goals this season, making 14 appearances for BVB – eight of them from the start – during a breakthrough campaign.

However, the forward's contract with Dortmund expires at the end of the season, and interest in him is likely to increase after he became the youngest German player to make a World Cup appearance in Wednesday's surprise defeat to Japan (aged 18 years and three days).

Moukoko's second-half introduction also made him the youngest player to make a World Cup appearance overall since Nigeria's Femi Opabunmi against England in 2002 (aged 17 years, 101 days).

Despite speculation linking him with a move, Moukoko has outlined his desire to pen a new deal with Edin Terzic's men, telling RND: "I get the confidence of the coach, Edin is like a father to me. 

"I feel very comfortable in Dortmund, I know the environment, my friends are there. 

"I love the club, the fans love me, I hope. Not everyone can say that about themselves. I would really like to stay in Dortmund, I have everything there."

However, the absence of Sebastien Haller – who has undergone treatment after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in July – may have contributed to Moukoko's increased involvement, and the teenager wants to be certain of his place in Dortmund's long-term plans. 

"You will see what that means for me. I want to know exactly what the club intends to do with me in the future," he added.

"I want to develop further and without games, I just can't develop. I don't want my development to stop again. I think that's quite normal because that perspective is important to me."

Roberto Martinez will expect a vast improvement from his Belgium side when they go in search of a record-breaking World Cup win over Morocco on Sunday.

The Red Devils were fortunate to beat Canada 1-0 in their first match of the tournament on Wednesday courtesy of a clinical finish from Michy Batshuayi.

Canada were the better side and Alphonso Davies had a penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois before Batshuayi secured all three points.

Belgium looked shaky at the back and got away with a lacklustre performance, Canada failing to find the back of the net with 22 attempts in the opening match of only their second World Cup.

But if Belgium beat Morocco, they will become the first team in World Cup history to win nine consecutive group games.

Morocco held Croatia to a goalless draw in their first Group F match and are plotting to spring a surprise at Al Thumama Stadium this weekend.

The Atlas Lions have injury concerns over Achraf Hakimi and Noussair Mazraoui for the encounter in Doha.

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku has been back in training as he works his way back from a thigh injury, with head coach Martinez having stated no timeframe has been set on when he might return

Kevin De Bruyne says even if the Red Devils' all-time record goalscorer is only able to take his place on the bench, that would give the squad a lift.

The inspirational midfielder said: "I don’t know how he is, he has been training with us and also apart these days.

"I must admit that he is a player who helps the team a lot, you can feel his presence on the pitch. 

"I don't even know if he will be there against Morocco, but if he were to start from the bench he would be an extra weapon in the game."

Belgium are unbeaten in their four World Cup meetings with African teams and came out on top when the two nations met at the 1994 showpiece, Marc Degryse scoring the only goal of the game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Belgium - Michy Batshuayi

In the absence of Lukaku, Batshuayi stepped up to get Belgium off to a winning start as they rode their luck in midweek.

He had five of Belgium’s nine shots and was the only player to register an attempt on goal for the Red Devils before being replaced in the 78th minute.

If Belgium can exert more control on the game, Batshuayi is capable of rewarding them as he should be full of confidence after his decisive strike.

Morocco - Hakim Ziyech

A lack of goals has been a big issue for Morocco in World Cup matches, with the stalemate versus Croatia being the ninth time in 17 games they have failed to find the back of the net.

Hakim Ziyech is one of the players who is capable of getting them firing in Qatar, where he had two shots and created as many chances against Croatia.

The Chelsea winger has shown he can has the quality to produce moments of magic with his wand of a left foot, which Belgium will be wary of.

PREDICTION

Belgium will be expected to make it two wins out of two despite an uninspiring start.

According to Stats Perform's AI model, Martinez's men have a 48.7 per cent chance of securing a record-breaking victory.

Morocco will have seen weaknesses to exploit in that Belgium display against the Canadians and they are rated as having a 26 per cent chance of pulling off a shock victory, with the draw at 25.3 per cent.

Christophe Galtier believes success in the Champions League should not define his ongoing project at Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG have been dominant force in France over the past decade, winning eight Ligue 1 titles while also capturing the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue on six occasions.

But the coveted Champions League crown has continued to elude Parisian giants, who came closest to landing it when they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the 2020 final.

PSG will face Bayern once more in the last 16 of this season's competition, but head coach Galtier thinks his future at the club should not depend on their performances in Europe.

"There are 10 teams that every season aim to win the Champions League, and only one achieves it," he told Marca. "And then, the other nine who have not succeeded, do we have to fire their coaches? No.

"It's very difficult to win the Champions League. I'm not looking to protect myself, but the big European clubs have this goal and don't change everything because they don't win it.

"There are several examples. Atletico [Madrid] reached the final twice and when they did not win, the club continued to believe in [Diego] Simeone and his sporting project. The same goes for Pep Guardiola. [Manchester City] haven't won yet, but the club still believes in their ideas.

"I think it would be a mistake to change PSG's sports project if the Champions League is not won. I think it's a process, obviously not a 10-year one, but what shouldn't be is that if we don't win this year, we change everything."

Despite being unbeaten in six matches, PSG only advanced to the knockout stages as group runners-up for a second successive season, as Benfica snatched top spot in Group H by virtue of scoring more away goals.

Galtier's side conceded seven goals - with only RB Leipzig (nine) and Eintracht Frankfurt (eight) shipping more against the teams that progressed to the last 16 - and the head coach insists they must tighten up to embark on a long run in the competition. 

"We have conceded too many in the Champions League," he added. "Obviously, there is a difference in level between the Champions League and our championship. But if we want to go far in the Champions League, we must improve our defensive level.

"Nothing is easy in the Champions League. In addition, no one in the analysis has taken into account the difficulty of the calendar this season. It is the first time in the history of football with such a compact and difficult calendar.

"Practically every week, there were Champions League games. I think that's why some teams that normally made it past the group stage haven't. We have played in three and a half months what we normally played in four or five months."

A first-half header from Mitch Duke was enough to see off Tunisia and ignite Australia's hopes of progressing to the World Cup knockout stages in a 1-0 victory.

Duke converted Craig Goodwin's left-wing cross in the 23rd minute with the Socceroos having to withstand some late pressure to secure a win that means they head into their final Group D clash with Denmark with all to play for.

Tunisia have a solitary point from their two games and will have to beat defending champions France on Wednesday and hope other results go their way.

Australia shaded a frantic opening but could not profit from a series of crosses into the Tunisia box.

Delivering the ball from wide areas was clearly a key part of the Australia strategy and it paid dividends midway through the first half. Duke started the move with a deft touch in midfield before racing into the box to cleverly glance Goodwin’s deflected cross past Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen.

Tunisia grew as an attacking force as the first half progressed and could have levelled twice before the break.

After 41 minutes, robust play from Issam Jebali saw him pick out Mohamed Drager at the far post only for defender Harry Souttar to race across to block his goalbound shot.

The tireless Jebali then turned up on the right but his low centre was fired wide by captain Youssef Msakni.

Tunisia dominated possession in the second half but their desperation to find an equaliser almost saw them undone again after 71 minutes - substitute Jamie Maclaren escaping down the left before delivering a low cross that was inches in front of the sliding Mathew Leckie.

A second goal was not required in the end as Australia's resolute backline - in which Souttar was outstanding - did enough to keep Tunisia out and register just the Socceroos' second clean sheet in 18 World Cup matches.