England will be facing Tunisia in their opening game of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. After the humiliation in the 2016 European Championship, the pressure is huge on the english team. For the opening match against Tunisia, the odds are clearly in England’s favor – and we expect a low scoring game that England wins.
The 2014 World Cup was a horrible Championship for England, ending in last place in a group with Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica. And after the loss against Iceland in the Euro 2016, the expectation is low for the World Cup in Russia.
The Three Lions should however be able to reach the round of 16 in Russia. And a place among the last eight is not unthinkable either. England is in Group G along with Belgium, Panama and Tunisia. Belgium will be the toughest opponent in the group, but England should be able to collect three points against both Panama and Tunisia.
Gareth Southgate’s squad is young and talented, but is lacking a lot of experience on this level. Harry Kane is one of the key players, and will play an important role in England’s offensive. But the lack of experience in the team overall will make top nations such as Brazil, France, Germany and Spain hard to beat. For that reason, reaching further than the round of eight will be a challenge – since Germany is the most likely opponent in a quarter-final.
Tunisia will be the first obstacle to overcome
England will face Tunisia in their opening game in Russia. On paper, Tunisia definatly doesn’t have as strong a team as England – and they don’t have a very impressive World Cup record either. The 2018 World Cup in Russia will be their first World Cup since 2006, and their 5th World Cup in total.
Tunisia finished the 2018 friendlies with great results – winning over Costa Rica (1-0), Iran (1-0) and tied against Portugal (2-2) and Turkey (2-2). In their last game before the World Cup, Tunisia lost against Spain (0-1).
Possible lineups
Tunisia
Mathlouthi, Bronn, Ben Youssef, Menah, Maaloul, Shkiri, Khaoui, Sassi, Sliti, Badri, Ben Youssef
England
Pickford, Stones, Cahill, Walker, Trippier, Rose, Henderson, Alli, Lingard, Sterling, Kane
Prediction and bet tips – Tunisia vs England
We are confident that England will win their opening match against Tunisia, but we don’t think they will score a lot of goals. England to win 1-0 or 2-0 seems like a reasonable prediction – so we’ll put our money on England to win and under 2.5 goals in the match. We play this bet at Bethard, which gives us the odds 39/20.
Compare the best odds for Tunisia vs England
Skriven den 17 June, 2018