Kane brace changes mood

So, after what seemed like an eternity England’s 2018 World Cup campaign finally departed the platform with the hopes of the nation riding on the shoulders of what is by any reckoning a young squad of players. Throughout the build up Manager Gareth Southgate had been at pains to dampen expectation a wake of rank failure having blighted the campaigns of previous incumbents to the role. Furthermore, the knowledge that barely 30% of Premier League starting elevens are comprised of English stock tells us that the raw material from which to build a world cup winning side is severely limited.

In an effort to negate this Southgate has devised a 3-5-2 system which the players understand and have bought into whilst simultaneously putting effort into building resilience, something which English sides at major tournaments have been distinctly lacking. So at last a degree of common sense, but whether this translated itself into performance on the pitch had still to be proven - and as last night’s game entered its seventieth minute the jury was very much out.

Brief summary to that point. Lively first twenty minutes in which three goals rather than one should have been converted. There then followed a drop in both intensity and concentration during which a soft penalty – duly converted – was conceded. Two further first half chances were squandered before a turgid second half where a lack of midfield guile meant that a stubborn Tunisian defence was rarely punctured. Slovenia 2016 sprang to mind.

When in minute seventy Manager Southgate finally realised that Raheem Sterling is not an international footballer, the tempo was raised by the introduction of first Marcus Rashford and then Ruben Loftus-Cheek. But as the game plodded to its end point, it looked for all the world as if the twelve year wait to win an opening encounter at a major tournament was about to be extended. Then just as time added on was entered - and seemingly from nowhere - Harry Kane’s poacher’s header sealed the win. And in that moment the turgidity of all that had proceeded it, was suddenly forgotten.

Yes you could argue that Kane should have been awarded a couple of penalties and that the one given against Kyle Walker was harsh. Yes you could argue it was hot and that after an intensive first half England were drained by the effort required to overcome the less than enterprising Tunisians. But in times past a draw would have been the ultimate outcome and here, for once, that was not the case. Perhaps the resilience training had indeed helped. It was also gratifying that in the post-match interviews Captain Kane and Harry McGuire gave honest assessments of the performance.

So yes, it’s a good start. But England are still some way off an incisive unit and one can only hope that Manager Southgate sees sense. Rashford must play instead of Sterling, Dier instead of Henderson and Rose instead of Young.

©Mark Brennand