England 2, Tunisia 1
Group G, Volgograd Arena, Volgograd
The win didn’t come as easily as expected for England, but captain Harry Kane came through in the final minutes to give the Three Lions their first win in a World Cup opener since 2006. England now sits second in Group G on goal differential behind Belgium, which beat Panama 3-0 earlier Monday.
England pushed throughout, keeping Tunisia on the defensive, but never quite breaking through. The Three Lions took 18 shots to Tunisia’s 6 and held the ball more than 61 percent of the time. But Kane was able to bookend the match with a pair of goals. His first, in the sixth minute, was tapped in on a set piece, and his second, in stoppage time, was a smart header. Kane stepped up when it mattered for England.
“We’ve spoken a lot about togetherness. It’s nice to see it working on the pitch,” Kane said in an on-field interview after the game. “Really proud, we’ve done a lot of work on the training field. … I’ll tell you, it’s tough, the World Cup, especially the first game. So proud of them.”
What’s next
Tunisia: vs. Belgium in Moscow, June 23, 8 a.m.
England: vs. Panama in Nizhny Novgorod, June 24, 8 a.m.
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In-game Updates
Harry Kane does it again!
In stoppage time, nonetheless. Kane was left wide open and headed the ball in at close range.
England subs again…
Dele Alli comes out for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but as commentators on FS1 have been pondering, England may be wishing they had more of a fiery playmaker at the moment. Jack Wilshere, left of the national team this time around, has been a popular topic of conversation.
Substitute, England
England, looking to crack Tunisia’s defense, replaces Sterling with Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.
Similar start for England
They’re still pushing the pace and threatening, but Tunisia is sitting back in their defensive end a little bit and making things a trifle harder for the Three Lions. Welcome to stalemate.
Halftime: Tunisia 1, England 1
We’re clipping along at quite a pace so far, thanks in large part to England’s urgent attack. Harry Kane put England up early and the Three Lions had myriad missed opportunities after that, but instead Kyle Walker’s gaffe gave Tunisia a chance to pull even.
England has 12 shots to Tunisia’s 4 and is possessing the ball 60 percent of the time. They’ll need to be a bit more precise in the second half.
Missed opportunities abound for England
Every one of England’s many set pieces have put the Three Lions in agonizingly good position to score, including Kieran Trippier’s, which got to Jesse Lingard, who got off a good shot that was deflected out of bounds for a corner kick.
Then there was this:
Goal Tunisia!
On a penalty kick, brought about when Kyle Walker pulled down Fakhreddine Ben Youssef. There was a VAR check but the decision was confirmed. Ferjani Sassi shoots low and to the right, out of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s reach.
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Tunisia’s keeper comes out
The Eagles of Carthage are forced to make an early change when starting keeper Mouez Hassen, who looked to have banged his left shoulder on the turf in a hard fall earlier, goes down again. After just 14 minutes, he leaves the field in tears. Farouk Ben Mustapha replaces him in goal.
Goal from Harry Kane!
England’s captain, in great position in front of the keeper, taps an easy one in to score his first career World Cup goal.
Solid start for the Three Lions
England is pressing at every opportunity — both Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard have had good looks already (although Sterling’s wouldn’t have counted).
England outnumbered?
According to the FS1 broadcast, Tunisia fans outnumber England fans in Volgograd Arena by about 10,000 to 2,000, which does seem apt for supporters of a team that hasn’t been in the World Cup for 12 years. But, 2,000 England fans is far lower a number than was expected in Russia. Poor ticket sales are being blamed on everything from low expectations for this England team to the country’s souring relations with Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Starting lineups
Lords of the flies
As if England fans needed more ammunition for jokes about their national team being plagued, swarms of flying insects have descended upon Volgograd. They could make things quite uncomfortable for those on the pitch and in the arena Monday night.
Apparently this is a recurring issue in Volgograd, a southwestern city that is set to host four group stage matches. Helicopters were deployed days ago to spray pesticide over the area surrounding the arena, including marshlands on the outskirts of the Volga river, which runs through the city. But the insects have still been so bad that one British news channel decided to cancel a series of live interviews planned in front of England’s hotel.
“They are on your face, stick to your lips, get inside your nostrils, your ears and your hair,” BBC Sport reporter Natalie Pirks told the BBC. “I’ve had to debug myself at bedtime as you find dead ones you’ve splatted in the strangest of places.”
Pregame thoughts
As far as long-suffering World Cup squads go, England and Tunisia are perfectly matched foes in a group widely expected to boil down to England and Belgium. Tunisia, which in 1978 became the first African nation to win a World Cup game, hasn’t won a match since. England hasn’t won a knockout match in an international tournament in more than a decade. The difference, of course, is that expectations are just a bit grander for Coach Gareth Southgate’s young squad than they are for Tunisia’s group of relative unknowns.
England arrives in Russia as one of the youngest and least experienced sides in the field (no one on the roster has racked up even 10 international appearances). But something of a fresh start might be a good thing for the Three Lions, perhaps shrinking those expectations just a little bit. Sure, they’ve got that embarrassing 2-1 loss to Iceland in the 2016 European Championships that reminds one that anything can happen, but a smart attack is expected to handle Tunisia with little problem. Tunisia, meanwhile, will have to be nearly perfect to steal a point despite a well-structured defense. The loss of standout playmaker Youssef Msakni to injury might be one Tunisia doesn’t get over.
Team Profiles
Tunisia
- Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2006.
- Best finish: Tunisia has never made it out of the group stage. Its best showing was in 1978, a 1-1-1 performance.
- Notable: Tunisia became the first African country to win a World Cup match when it beat Mexico in its opening game in Argentina in 1978. It hasn’t won a match since.
- FIFA world ranking: 21. ELO world ranking: 48.
England
- Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2014.
- Best finish: Champions in 1966, when England was the World Cup host.
- Notable: England is one of just eight countries to win the World Cup. The others are Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain and France.
- FIFA world ranking: 12. ELO world ranking: 7.
Players to Watch
For England, all eyes are bound to be on 24-year-old captain Harry Kane, who will lead the attack but has yet to score in tournament soccer. The striker put up 30 goals for Tottenham Hotspur this season, ranking second in the Premier League after Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, and will work in tandem with forward Raheem Sterling, the team lightning rod, at least when it comes to the media. Sterling, England’s No. 10, impressed when he went to his first World Cup at 19 and has since become a well-rounded attacker with Premier League champion Manchester City, tallying 23 goals and 17 assists this season. Pictures of an old tattoo — an AK-47 that’s a tribute to his father, a victim of gun violence — stirred up controversy in the days before the World Cup, but Sterling is used to the attention by now.
Tunisia, on the other hand, is essentially a team without stars after the loss of Msakni. Wahbi Khazri is a talented attacking midfielder who can cause trouble in set pieces and will be tasked with creating most of Tunisia’s chances. Ferjani Sassi, Mohamed Amine Ben Amor and Ghaylen Chaaleli anchor a capable midfield.
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