Captain Harry Kane leads the way as England leave it late to sink Tunisia

England left it late to break Tunisia’s hearts as Harry Kane’s stoppage time winner meant Gareth Southgate’s World Cup debut went according to plan. Just.

It all started so well for England who dominated possession and put Tunisia under pressure whenever they managed to get a hold of the ball themselves. This was the new look, revitalised England the world had been waiting for and it felt only fitting that Kane would score the opening goal.

After both Jesse Lingard and Raheem Sterling, later flagged offside, missed golden chances to put England ahead it was captain Kane who showed them how to do it. A long corner was powered towards goal by Harry Maguire, forcing a world class save from Tunisia's Hassem, but the rebound fell kindly to the Tottenham striker who buried it into the net without a second thought.

Was football finally about to ‘come home’?

If you’ve followed England for any length of time you’ll know that nothing is certain when it comes to them. Kyle Walker, another one of the players at this tournament who has lauded the influence Pep Guardiola has had on him, was punished for catching Fakhreddine Ben Youssef with a stray elbow. England were once again shooting themselves in the foot.

Ferjani Sassi stepped up to convert the spot kick and take the wind out of England’s sails.

The second half was extremely frustrating for England as Tunisia were now content to sit and protect, something which has been a common trend amongst the smaller sides at the World Cup so far. It was up to England to find a way to break down the opposition but it wasn’t quite clicking up front and Southgate was forced to shuffle his pack.

Marcus Rashford was the first to enter the fray before Ruben Loftus Cheek joined him later on, replacing Sterling and Alli respectively. Nothing was working. Attack after attack broke down either due to one man trying to do too much or choosing the wrong option at the end. England were on the verge of falling short and extending that unwanted record of not winning at a World Cup for nearly eight years.

As the clock ticked into the 90th minute England were awarded a corner. The ball was floated to the back post and there was Kane to snatch all three points and get his own World Cup off to a fantastic start. On the eve of the match he said he wanted to claim the Golden Boot and win the tournament. Thanks to his performance tonight, both of those dreams moved a step in the right direction.