IT’S HARRY HOUDINI!
Captain Kane saves England at last gasp
WITH 90 minutes up on the clock last night, England fans were resigning themselves to another embarrassing World Cup result.
But captain Harry Kane had other ideas as he spared the Three Lions’ blushes with the winning goal in the dying minutes against Tunisia.
The Tottenham striker’s second goal secured a 2-1 victory and was greeted with wild scenes of jubilation in the southern Russian city of Volgograd and throughout England. Manager Gareth Southgate pumped his fist in the air as England opened a major tournament with a win for the first time since 2006.
Kane, 24, scored England’s first goal after just 11 minutes, but his team-mates missed a string of chances before defender Kyle Walker conceded a penalty in the 33rd minute and Tunisia levelled the scores.
Kane told the BBC: ‘It is massive. It was tough. I thought we played really well especially in the first half – we should have been ahead. Credit to the lads, we kept going. It is a World Cup, you go until the last second. Absolutely buzzing.
‘We spoke about togetherness and we’ve got a great bond off the pitch, so it was great to see it working on the pitch.
‘ Everyone, staff included, we’re all delighted. We’ll get on the plane happy tonight. I’m really proud.
‘We did a lot of work on training field and were itching to play – get the nerves and excitement out of the play.’
Southgate, 47, said: ‘The way we kept playing, even though the clock was running down, we stayed patient, we didn’t just throw the ball in the box.
‘We waited for good opportunities and I think we deserved the win. We made so many clear-cut chances, especially in the first half, were in total control of the game in the second half, we were strong on set-plays all night and I’m really pleased.
‘We’ve given ourselves a great platform to build from. There’s a lot of work to do still. Panama will be tough in a different way. We can enjoy tonight – and we hope everyone at home does.’
The manager said of his captain: ‘Harry is a top, top striker. I’m delighted for him as we’d be asking questions about him not scoring in tournament football if he hadn’t scored. He took his goals really well.’
While millions watched the victory from the comfort of home, only 2,000 England fans travelled to the Russian city for the match at the 45,000- seat Volgograd Arena. They were outnumbered by 4,000 Tunisian supporters from North Africa – boosted by a large contingent of ex-pats from France and Europe.
England fan Marcus Kelvin, 42, from Leeds, said: ‘What a fantastic result. It was typical of England but we got there in the end. It was hard work but I think we deserved the win.’
Bournemouth fans Mark Bailey, 54, and Steve Pope, 56, were also delighted with the result. ‘It was a workmanlike performance but we won – that’s the most important thing,’ Mr Bailey said. ‘I’m sure we will get better and most of the big nations haven’t won their first matches.’
Mr Pope added: ‘We’ve been made so welcome here. The Russians have been great.’
Mark Proctor, 35, a painter from Basildon, Essex, added: ‘Harry Kane rescued us and his brace may well get us out of the group and into the knockout stages for a change.’