Kane: We could have had two penalties so justice was done
HARRY KANE claimed justice was done after his last-gasp header got England off to a flying start.
The England captain was denied two penalties after VAR failed to spot him being fouled in the box.
But two-goal Kane saved England with a dramatic stoppage-time goal that had Gareth Southgate celebrating wildly with his players.
Kane said: “I’m really proud. It’s tough – the World Cup is tough, especially the first game. Get the nerves out of the way, the excitement, then we’ve got to play.
“I’m so proud of them. We kept fighting, kept going and sent the fans home happy.
“There could have been a couple of penalties, especially when you look at their one. We had so much joy from corners, they were trying to grab hold to stop us running.
“Maybe we got a bit of justice at the end to get one at the back post. That’s football, that’s the ref. It shows good character to get on with it and that’s what we’ve done.
“It’s the World Cup and you keep going to the last second. We spoke a lot about togetherness.
“Good teams wear teams down and score late goals and that is what we have done.
“We had to stay patient. We waited for good chances. We made so many clear chances, especially in the first half. I’m really pleased.”
England hammered away at Nabil Maaloul’s side after Tunisia’s Ferjani Sassi equalised to grab a vital three points.
Southgate said: “I thought even if we had drawn I would have been proud of the performance.
“We will do well to make as many chances in a game in this tournament. The pleasing thing was we kept going.
“Team selection was so difficult but we got this result from the last three weeks not just tonight and that is down to the work that BY JOHN CROSS & DARREN LEWIS everyone has done. We have given ourselves a great platform.
“There is a lot of work to do. Panama will be a tough test because they will be disappointed with their game today.”
Southgate heaped praise on goal hero Kane as the Spurs star ensured his men recorded England’s first win in the opening game of a major tournament since they beat Paraguay in the 2006 World Cup.
He said: “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.”
England next play Panama – who lost 3-0 to Belgium – in their next Group G game on Sunday.
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson was delighted with the team’s all-out effort.
He said: “We kept going. We said before the game we would keep going and keep fighting. It paid off for us tonight with the late goal.
“I still felt positive after the penalty, the pace did drop off a bit. In the World Cup you have to keep going and keep creating chances. We were dangerous on set-pieces all night. We got our reward. It’s a big win and a big boost, winning the first game. But you have to win the next one and the next. It goes on and on.
“We have to recover well and prepare well. We have to build momentum now.”
Kane’s winner took the heat off Manchester City defender Kyle Walker who was judged to have elbowed Fakhreddine Ben Youssef.
Walker said: “It shows the work we have put in and the togetherness in this squad. We believe in the system, we believe in ourselves.
“In the Premier League I would have got away with that [the penalty]. I got a shout to leave it and tried to leave the ball. In the future I’ll just head it away.
“We played some good stuff and created a lot in the first half. We are not the finished article.
“I’m not a big talker, I don’t like to voice my opinions but I said I will run and give everything for this team. It’s good to win. A pat on the back for us.”