Late goal from Kane lifts England over Tunisia
Twice wrestled to the ground during the match, England captain Harry Kane finally evaded the Tunisian defense 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 Monday in a 2-1 victory at the World Cup in Volgograd, Russia.
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.
“Maybe there was a bit of justice at the end,” Kane said.
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.”
At the last World Cup, England couldn’t even win a game. Low expectations for this year’s overhauled team were dispelled early in Russia when Kane reacted quickly to score after John Stones’ header was saved. But England struggled to finish it off.
When Walker’s flailing arm caught Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, a penalty was awarded and Sassi slotted it in to equalize.
England’s players later thought they deserved the same verdict when Kane was grappled to the ground twice by Tunisians on either side of the halftime break. Both times, the referee decided against punishing the culprits.
Despite it all, Kane remained patient and delivered in the first minute of stoppage time.
“You go until the last second,” Kane said, “and I’m absolutely buzzing.”
BELGIUM 3, PANAMA 0
Dries Mertens’ perfectly struck volley finally opened up Panama and allowed Romelu Lukaku to take full advantage.
Lukaku scored two goals in a six-minute span in the second half as Belgium earned a victory over Panama in its World Cup opener in Sochi, Russia.
Saddled with massive expectations and a lineup of talent the envy of other teams in the tournament, Belgium finally showed flashes of being the dominant team worthy of title consideration.
The two goals from Lukaku came shortly after Mertens scored from about 18 yards in the opening moments of the second half, finally relieving some pressure after Belgium was unable to break down Panama for the first 45 minutes.
Lukaku’s first goal came 20 minutes later, but the pass from Kevin De Bruyne made it possible. Rather than shooting through a crowd of Panama defenders, De Bruyne cut a pass with the outside of his right foot onto Lukaku’s head and into the net.
Lukaku added a second on a breakaway minutes later, chipping Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo as he left his net.
Belgium is now unbeaten in its last six World Cup openers, dating back to 1986.
Panama was unable to duplicate what Senegal accomplished in 2002 as the last team to win in its World Cup debut. The Central Americans played their style — physical, aggressive, sometimes looking more like wrestling than soccer — and managed to hang with the Red Devils for more than an hour. But they never created threatening scoring chances — Panama scored only nine goals in 10 World Cup qualifying matches — and eventually Belgium finished its opportunities.
SWEDEN 1, SOUTH KOREA 0
Sweden got the break it needed from the video review system, and team captain Andreas Granqvist didn’t waste the chance.
Granqvist slid his penalty kick into the bottom right corner of the net in the 65th minute to give Sweden a victory over South Korea in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
“I was calm. I waited for the goalie and then I put it in the corner,” Granqvist said. “We got the penalty, we scored, and then it was just a fight to the end.”
The Swedes were awarded the penalty after referee Joel Aguilar consulted a video screen on the sideline following an appeal by the Swedish players. Aguilar had originally waved play on after South Korea substitute Kim Min-woo collided with Viktor Claesson in the area. But he changed his mind after taking another look, deciding Kim had tripped Claesson as he tried to clear the ball in a sliding tackle.
It was the third penalty to be awarded because of a video review at this year’s World Cup. France and Peru have also benefitted from the technology, though the Peruvians missed their penalty kick.
Sweden had been the better team for much of the game — and finished with 15 attempts on goal to South Korea’s five — but couldn’t beat goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo until the penalty.
Sweden was making its return to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. It is now tied for first place in Group F with Mexico, which beat Germany 1-0. The Swedes will next face the Germans on Saturday, while South Korea plays Mexico on the same day.