Kane rescues England
Twice wrestled to the ground during the match, England captain Harry Kane finally evaded the Tunisian defense just as time was running out in Volgograd, Russia.
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 Monday in a 2-1 victory at the World Cup.
It was relief for Kane and Gareth Southgate, who leapt into the air in delight as his World Cup debut as a coach got off to a winning start.
“The best teams in the world keep that belief in what they’re doing,” Southgate said, “and in the end they break the opposition down.”
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, many of the fouls went against England.
Finally, Kane showcased on the international stage the predatory instinct in front of goal that has served Tottenham so well. Only two years ago, the striker failed to find the net at the 2016 European Championship, which ended in humiliation with a loss to Iceland in the last 16.
The team has been transformed by Southgate since then. For all the placidness and togetherness within the group, Southgate has added persistence and doggedness.
“It shows the work we have put in these last few weeks,” Walker said. “Togetherness and believing in ourselves.”
Belgium 3, Panama 0: Romelu Lukaku scored twice in a six-minute span in the second half after Dries Mertens’ perfectly struck volley gave Belgium the lead in Sochi, Russia.
Saddled with massive expectations and a lineup of talent the envy of other teams in the tournament, Belgium showed flashes of being a team worthy of title consideration.
A shaky first-half performance by Belgium was replaced by a confident, attacking group in the second that was finally able to find gaps in Panama’s defense.
Sweden 1, South Korea 0: Andreas Granqvist slid his penalty kick into the bottom right corner of the net in the 65th minute in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
The Swedes were awarded the penalty after Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar consulted a video screen on the sideline. Aguilar had originally waved play on after South Korea substitute Kim Minwoo slid into a tackle.