England 2-1 Tunisia - Kane's Last Gasp Winner Gets Three Lions Off to Flying World Cup Start
England come into the World Cup after an unbeaten qualifying campaign, with 8 wins and 2 draws. While their recent qualifying groups have never been particularly hard, there were a few potential teams that could have caused a shock. Rivals Scotland almost caused an upset in a 2-2 draw at Hampden Park as 3 of the 4 goals came in the final few minutes. Similarly, with Slovenia and Slovakia, England left it late to seal the 3 points. One major concern amongst most England supporters going into the World Cup is England's ability to beat teams that will look to defend deep and whether we have the creativity to break these sides down. In qualifying and previous tournaments, the Three Lions have struggled to do so, with the epitome of the issue being the embarrassing 2-1 loss to Iceland at the 2016 Euros. England haven't lived up to expectations for the last few major tournaments which has led to a negativity surrounding the national team.
Tunisia also topped a tight group that included DR Congo and went unbeaten in their qualification campaign, with 4 wins and 2 draws. In the warm up games to the World Cup, Tunisia managed to limit Spain to a 1-0 win, and drew 2-2 with both Portugal and Turkey. So, they aren't a team to be written off or underestimated. Tunisia may be one of the teams England struggle to play against. While they will be defensive, they also have good attacking threat and could catch England out if not careful. Former Sunderland winger Wahbi Khazri has shown his ability in the Premier League. Both him and Naïm Sliti will lead the line and cause the majority of the problems for the Three Lions. Although, their defence isn't full strength as Aymen Abdennour was left out by coach, Nabil Maâloul, due to a lack of playing time for Marseille, so Leicester City's Yohan Benalouane was the favoured choice. This opening World Cup match will be a good test for England to show that they have the credentials to live up to expectations and beat the smaller nations that they are expected to.
England almost scored from their first attack of the game. Dele Alli's pull back to Raheem Sterling was cut out by Syam Ben Youssef. Alli did well to dispossess Ali Maâloul and poke the ball back across goal to Jesse Lingard, who's first time effort was superbly saved by Mouez Hassen. England continued to push for the opener and within 5 minutes had another glorious chance. Alli's perfectly weighted ball to Lingard was then squared across goal to Sterling, but he couldn't sort his feet out in time and bundled harmlessly wide. Thankfully, the offside flag was up to spare the Manchester City winger/striker's blushes. The Three Lions finally found themselves deservedly ahead after 10 minutes. Ashley Young's corner was met by John Stones, whose bullet header forced Hassen into another great save, but Harry Kane was on hand to bury the rebound as the ball fell perfectly to his feet. England continued to dominate and should have been 4 or 5 goals ahead by the half-hour mark. The Three Lions created vast amounts of clear goal-scoring opportunities, but wastefulness and the lack of a clinical touch would come back to haunt them.
While Tunisia were limited to half chances, Dylan Bronn's over-hit cross missed all England defenders and Tunisian attackers, but Fakhreddine Ben Youssef used his body well to collide with Kyle Walker's flailing elbow and earned his side a penalty. Ferjani Sassi stepped up and sent his penalty past Jordan Pickford to level the score. England were now, rather unfortunately, back to level terms. The Three Lions looked to regain the lead immediately, and caused somewhat of a goal-mouth scramble from a corner. After 4 attempts on goal, Tunisia clear their lines. However, Kane was extremely hard done by to be denied a penalty after being wrestled to the ground by Sassi in the process. England were desperately unlucky not to regain the lead just before the break, as Lingard latched onto a lobbed ball, poked past substitute keeper, Farouk Ben Mustapha, but could only watch on as his shot trickled towards goal only to bounce off the post.
England continued to probe but the Tunisian defence stood strong. Despite the introduction of the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) England had two clear penalties turned down as Kane was again brought down in the box, this time by Yassine Merriah. The Three Lions continued to push for the lead, but failed to create any clear-cut chances. None like they created in the first half. Tunisia's defence drastically improved from the first half as they switched from zonal marking to man-to-man. England struggled to break down the resilient Tunisian defence but still looked dangerous. After a few half chances, England almost broke the deadlock in the 68th minute through a Kieran Trippier free-kick curled just wide of the post. Jordan Henderson's dinked ball over the Tunisian defence looked harmless, but a break-down in communication almost allowed Alli to sneak in and roll past Ben Mustapha, but the ball fell awkwardly and Ben Mustapha could collect. Young curled a free-kick just past the top left corner 12 minutes from the final whistle as England began to enter the final 10 minutes. In the final few minutes of normal time, Reuben Loftus-Cheek's pull back was left by Marcus Rashford for Lingard, who was closed down quickly when Rashford may have been better placed to go for goal himself; Perhaps you'd expect better communication from the young Manchester United duo. As the game entered additional time, England had only a handful of chances left to salvage a winner. Trippier's corner was headed on to the far post by Harry Maguire, and Kane was free to head England ahead in the 91st minute from 5 yards out; Sending England fans everywhere into mass jubilation and absolute delirium, while devastating Tunisians after working so hard for a well-earned point.
Although they left it late and the second half was ultimately rather uneventful, England dug deep and found a way to win their first opening match since beating Paraguay at Germany 2006. While there were negatives, there were also a lot of positives, namely the opportunities created in the first half. In many recent tournaments and qualifying games, England teams haven't been able to create much against teams who defend well and in numbers; So, to create the chances, despite not taking them, is a large positive. Over recent years, the media have focused on the negatives after disappointing tournaments. Why not focus on the positives and give this young team a chance?
England's next opponent are Panama, who were comfortably beaten by Belgium 3-0 in their opening match. Panama will be another test for England, they are a physical side and another team that shouldn't be underestimated. They qualified from a group which included Mexico and the United States, whom they pipped to a qualification spot by a single point.
Tunisia also topped a tight group that included DR Congo and went unbeaten in their qualification campaign, with 4 wins and 2 draws. In the warm up games to the World Cup, Tunisia managed to limit Spain to a 1-0 win, and drew 2-2 with both Portugal and Turkey. So, they aren't a team to be written off or underestimated. Tunisia may be one of the teams England struggle to play against. While they will be defensive, they also have good attacking threat and could catch England out if not careful. Former Sunderland winger Wahbi Khazri has shown his ability in the Premier League. Both him and Naïm Sliti will lead the line and cause the majority of the problems for the Three Lions. Although, their defence isn't full strength as Aymen Abdennour was left out by coach, Nabil Maâloul, due to a lack of playing time for Marseille, so Leicester City's Yohan Benalouane was the favoured choice. This opening World Cup match will be a good test for England to show that they have the credentials to live up to expectations and beat the smaller nations that they are expected to.
Wahbi Khazri Will Be One of Tunisia's Main Threats for Their World Cup Campaign
England almost scored from their first attack of the game. Dele Alli's pull back to Raheem Sterling was cut out by Syam Ben Youssef. Alli did well to dispossess Ali Maâloul and poke the ball back across goal to Jesse Lingard, who's first time effort was superbly saved by Mouez Hassen. England continued to push for the opener and within 5 minutes had another glorious chance. Alli's perfectly weighted ball to Lingard was then squared across goal to Sterling, but he couldn't sort his feet out in time and bundled harmlessly wide. Thankfully, the offside flag was up to spare the Manchester City winger/striker's blushes. The Three Lions finally found themselves deservedly ahead after 10 minutes. Ashley Young's corner was met by John Stones, whose bullet header forced Hassen into another great save, but Harry Kane was on hand to bury the rebound as the ball fell perfectly to his feet. England continued to dominate and should have been 4 or 5 goals ahead by the half-hour mark. The Three Lions created vast amounts of clear goal-scoring opportunities, but wastefulness and the lack of a clinical touch would come back to haunt them.
While Tunisia were limited to half chances, Dylan Bronn's over-hit cross missed all England defenders and Tunisian attackers, but Fakhreddine Ben Youssef used his body well to collide with Kyle Walker's flailing elbow and earned his side a penalty. Ferjani Sassi stepped up and sent his penalty past Jordan Pickford to level the score. England were now, rather unfortunately, back to level terms. The Three Lions looked to regain the lead immediately, and caused somewhat of a goal-mouth scramble from a corner. After 4 attempts on goal, Tunisia clear their lines. However, Kane was extremely hard done by to be denied a penalty after being wrestled to the ground by Sassi in the process. England were desperately unlucky not to regain the lead just before the break, as Lingard latched onto a lobbed ball, poked past substitute keeper, Farouk Ben Mustapha, but could only watch on as his shot trickled towards goal only to bounce off the post.
Harry Kane Slots Past Mouez Hassen to Give Three Lions Early Lead
England continued to probe but the Tunisian defence stood strong. Despite the introduction of the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) England had two clear penalties turned down as Kane was again brought down in the box, this time by Yassine Merriah. The Three Lions continued to push for the lead, but failed to create any clear-cut chances. None like they created in the first half. Tunisia's defence drastically improved from the first half as they switched from zonal marking to man-to-man. England struggled to break down the resilient Tunisian defence but still looked dangerous. After a few half chances, England almost broke the deadlock in the 68th minute through a Kieran Trippier free-kick curled just wide of the post. Jordan Henderson's dinked ball over the Tunisian defence looked harmless, but a break-down in communication almost allowed Alli to sneak in and roll past Ben Mustapha, but the ball fell awkwardly and Ben Mustapha could collect. Young curled a free-kick just past the top left corner 12 minutes from the final whistle as England began to enter the final 10 minutes. In the final few minutes of normal time, Reuben Loftus-Cheek's pull back was left by Marcus Rashford for Lingard, who was closed down quickly when Rashford may have been better placed to go for goal himself; Perhaps you'd expect better communication from the young Manchester United duo. As the game entered additional time, England had only a handful of chances left to salvage a winner. Trippier's corner was headed on to the far post by Harry Maguire, and Kane was free to head England ahead in the 91st minute from 5 yards out; Sending England fans everywhere into mass jubilation and absolute delirium, while devastating Tunisians after working so hard for a well-earned point.
Harry Kane Gets Mobbed by Teammates After Scoring Last Gasp Winner
Although they left it late and the second half was ultimately rather uneventful, England dug deep and found a way to win their first opening match since beating Paraguay at Germany 2006. While there were negatives, there were also a lot of positives, namely the opportunities created in the first half. In many recent tournaments and qualifying games, England teams haven't been able to create much against teams who defend well and in numbers; So, to create the chances, despite not taking them, is a large positive. Over recent years, the media have focused on the negatives after disappointing tournaments. Why not focus on the positives and give this young team a chance?
England's next opponent are Panama, who were comfortably beaten by Belgium 3-0 in their opening match. Panama will be another test for England, they are a physical side and another team that shouldn't be underestimated. They qualified from a group which included Mexico and the United States, whom they pipped to a qualification spot by a single point.
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