Tunisia 1-2 England: World Cup highlights and recap

England beat Tunisia 2-1 in the World Cup on Monday, June 18. Here are all the highlights from the match.

Harry Kane’s last-minute header rescued England from a frustrating draw in their World Cup opener against Tunisia on Monday, after the Tottenham striker’s earlier goal was canceled out by a controversial penalty awarded for Kyle Walker’s foul on Fakhreddine Ben Youssef.

Gareth Southgate’s side dominated the opening exchanges, and could well have been up by two goals within the first five minutes had Tunisia keeper Mouez Hassan not made an excellent save from Jesse Lingard, before Raheem Sterling missed an easy chance.

The Three Lions didn’t have to wait long before atoning for those errors, as Kane gave them the lead with his first World Cup foal in the 11th minute, tapping in the rebound after Hassen made another terrific stop from John Stones’ header.

England’s poor finishing cost them when Tunisia were awarded a penalty for Walker’s swinging arm, which collided with Ben Youssef. The call seemed harsh on Walker, but the VAR didn’t deem it a clear and obvious error. Ferjani Sassi scored from the spot.

After an entertaining first 45 minutes, the intensity of the game seemed to drop after the break. England continued to look dangerous from set pieces, but they struggled to break down Tunisia’s defense from open play.

Things improved slightly after Southgate brought on Marcus Rashford to replace Raheem Sterling, but the jolt of energy he took with him off the bench subsided within 15 minutes of his introduction, as Tunisia dropped deeper and deeper.

With the game seemingly headed for a draw, England’s dominance in dead ball situations proved decisive, Kane heading in at the back post after Harry Maguire’s flick-on at the near. A deserved winner, all things considered.

Next: The best player on every team at the World Cup

Highlights

England’s next match is against Panama on Sunday, June 24, while Tunisia play the day before against Belgium.