It is the night an entire nation has been waiting for as England begin their World Cup campaign in Russia. Manager Gareth Southgate takes charge of his first major tournament match as his side face Tunisia in their opening game of Group G.
There is cause for optimism ahead of kick-off with England having never lost against an African team at the World Cup (their record is W3 D3), keeping five clean sheets in six games.
The Three Lions have won only one of their last eight games at the World Cup (D4 L3), a 1-0 victory over Slovenia. They have also never scored more than one goal in their last nine games at the tournament.
England had the joint-best defensive record in the 2018 UEFA qualifiers and were also one of four unbeaten teams.
The Three Lions haven’t won their opening group-stage match at a major tournament since the 2006 World Cup but are the overwhelming favourites to emerge victorious against their North African opponents.
It’s been a tournament of shocks so far, with Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Brazil and Germany all failing to win their first matches.
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