In their World Cup debut against one of the pre-tournament underdogs, Tunisia held Denmark to a scoreless draw on Tuesday. Tunisia thus started their Group D campaign with a strong performance.

Five previous attempts at the World Cup have failed to advance Tunisia to the knockout stages, but Jalel Kadri’s team will be inspired by their performance against the highly anticipated Danes and by earning a point at Education City Stadium.

Since Kadri became the team’s manager in January, Tunisia has only suffered defeats against Brazil and Denmark in front of a boisterous crowd of thousands of North Africans.

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Christian Eriksen, who nearly lost his life on the field at the European Championship last year after wilting in the face of fierce defending, was mostly unnoticed upon his return to major tournament football.

Denmark had been the favorite going into the game, but Tunisia tore into their more famed opponents from the get-go, rushing into tackles.

Every tackle and clearing received loud applause from the throngs of Tunisians cheering in the stands.

Mohamed Drager’s long-range attempt, which clipped off Andreas Christensen and drifted just wide in the 11th minute, gave the African team a close call at taking the lead.

The Danes started to take control of the game, but their talisman Eriksen found it difficult to elude Tunisia’s well-organized backline. As a result, despite getting into dangerous situations, any attacks were easily thwarted.

Anis Ben Slimane, a Copenhagen native, strayed offside before slipping the ball past Kasper Schmeichel, who then made a fantastic save to ensure the scores were tied at halftime. The Tunisians came the closest to taking the lead in the opening period.

Issam Jebali was able to gain access to Youssef Msakni’s deft pass, but Schmeichel superbly deflected his dinked attempt away from goal.

Although Tunisia continued to play hard, Denmark had the two best opportunities in a close second half.

In the 69th minute, Aymen Dahmen’s fingertip stop denied Eriksen what would have been a great goal, and from the ensuing corner, replacement Andreas Cornelius somehow managed to head onto the post from close range.

Due to Tunisia’s inability to match Denmark’s muscular efforts with meaningful innovation, Denmark would have likely won the match as a result.

With their fervent followers, they celebrated a priceless and unexpected point after escaping a late penalty scare.