Kane gives England a head start
Twice wrestled to the ground during the match, England captain Harry Kane finally evaded the Tunisian defence just as time was running out. Kane found an open area of space at the far post and used his head to meet Harry Maguire’s flick-on, scoring the winning goal in Monday’s 2-1 victory at the World Cup.
It was relief for Kane and Gareth Southgate, who leaped into the air in delight as his World Cup debut as a coach got off to a winning start.
England shouldn’t have found it so tough in its Group G opener against such opposition. Not after Kane got England off to a perfect start with an 11th-minute tap in. But after Kyle Walker softly conceded a penalty that Ferjani Sassi converted in the 35th minute, many of the fouls went against England.
“Maybe there was a bit of justice at the end,” Kane said.
After a scoreless run at the 2016 European Championship, Kane is finally showing the predatory instinct in front of goal that has served Tottenham so well. Euro 2016 ended in humiliation for Kane and England with a loss to Iceland in the last 16, but the team has been transformed by Southgate. For all the placidness and togetherness within the group, Southgate has added persistence and doggedness.
Kane persisted through a pair of non-calls and ultimately delivered for the Three Lions.
“You go until the last second,” Kane said, “and I’m absolutely buzzing.” Sweden’s height advantage got to South Korea.
In an effort to compensate for the disparity, South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong decided to use a backup player in goal because he’s the tallest of the team’s three keepers.
The gamble worked, but a penalty still gave the Swedes a 1-0 victory on Monday at the World Cup. “We evaluated all of our goalkeepers and we felt like, with the very tall Swedish players, we thought Jo Hyeon-woo would be the best and we thought he’d be a little bit quicker,” Shin said. “So we chose him.”
At six foot three, Jo is tallest of the South Korean goalkeepers. But he’s normally No. 3 on the list when it comes to playing time. Sweden’s starting players average about six foot three, while South Korea’s starters average about six feet.
Romelu Lukaku scored two goals in a six-minute span and Dries Mertens put in another on Monday to give Belgium a 3-0 win over Panama.
Saddled with massive expectations and a lineup of talent the envy of others in the tournament, Belgium finally showed flashes of being worthy of title consideration. It took a wonderful strike from Mertens to finally relieve some of the pressure. His perfectly struck volley from about 18 yards came in the 47th minute after Panama was unable to clear a free kick. Lukaku made it 2-0 in the 69th minute off a pass by Kevin De Bruyne, and scored his second on a breakaway chip over Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo. Panama, which was making its World Cup debut, was unable to reward its thousands of loud, passionate fans with a goal.