FIFA World Cup
World Cup 2018: Tunisia vs England Preview
Volgograd Arena will be the venue on Monday when ‘The Three Lions’ make their World Cup 2018 debut against Tunisia. Tunisia captain Wahbi Khazri will lead the North African side and attempt an upset. Hoping to continue the trend in what has been the story of this World Cup so far.
Background
Gareth Southgate’s young England squad lack experience at this level but have come to Russia looking confident. Despite goalkeeper Pickford only having 3 caps, they look unified under their manager’s system. Their lineup, which should see five men at the back, was revealed to them by their coach as early as Saturday. “I think the players pretty much knew the team anyway from the way we work in training” he said during the pre-match press conference on Sunday.
Tunisia, nicknamed the ‘Eagles of Carthage’, are going to miss the presence of their star player Youssef Msakni through injury. Nevertheless, they already show signs of moving on by getting good results against Portugal and Turkey only narrowly losing to Spain in their last match.
The North Africans were the first African and first Arab team to win a World Cup Match, sealing their place in history in 1978. Current manager Dino Maamria, who played in England for Burnley, was only a boy then. England, tournament winners in 1966 on home soil, comfortably won the only previous WC match between these two in 1998.
Predicted Lineups
England: Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Jordan Henderson, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane
Tunisia: Mouez Hassen, Dylan Bronn, Syam Ben Youssef, Yassine Meriah, Ali Maaloul, Ferjani Sassi, Ellyes Skhiri, Anice Badri, Saif-Eddine Khaoui, Naim Sliti, Wahbi Khazri
Prediction
England will see this match as a hurdle to reaching the last 16 as group favorites Belgium take on new comers Panama earlier on Monday. History has seen England squads crack under the pressure of expectation but Southgate’s young squad represents a change. Team captain Harry Kane leads a squad unburdened by the past and bursting with skill. Breezing through qualification with the number one defense, they have no memory of Euro 2016 failure.
Tunisia possess the talent and experience to pull off of an upset and they will not be lacking confidence. They, like their British opponents were undefeated in qualification and will draw motivation from the Mexican and Icelandic upsets. All things considered, they will find it difficult to break down a disciplined England side. The Three Lions have never lost to African opposition in the finals and Tunisians have never made it out of the group stage. Expect a cautious and low scoring match with no room for error.
Prediction: England 1 – 0 Tunisia
