Tunisia vs England – Lineups, Predictions & Stats Preview 18 June 2018
On the 18th June, Tunisia will play England in their first game of the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in Volgograd. Tunisia v England tip: the match will be an entertaining and must watch that will feature two squads currently enjoying success with superb and on-form players expected to play. The two teams are in group F together with Belgium and Panama. There will be high expectations for the game featuring various stars, especially for the English side.
Tunisia Probable Lineups and Stats
Tunisia are ranked 27th by FIFA. They qualified to the 2018 World Cup for the first time after missing both 2010 and 2014 World Cup finals. The team’s performance in the last World Cup was however not good since they did not go past first rounds to the group stage.
The team has been able to bring together great talents from Tunisia making it one of the best African squad in the tournament. It includes young talents as well as players playing in both the national league and the foreign leagues.
The probable squad will include goalkeeper Mathlouthi, left back Maaloul, centre back Ben Youssef and Yassine Meriah, right back Nagguez, midfielders Mohamed Ben Amor, Ghilane Chalali and Badri. The forward line is likely to feature Sassi, Youssef Msakni and Taha Khenissi. The team operates under the management of Coach N. Maaloul.
Despite Tunisia’s poor performance in the last World Cup, whereby it never recorded a single win, its continental performance has greatly improved. So far, the team showed an excellent performance during the world cup qualifiers by recording an unbeaten record. In the group stage, it recorded six wins and two draws from the eight games played.
The 2004 African Nations’ champions enjoy one of the best-attacking sides in Africa. Led by Y. Msakni on the front line, the team has been a good attacking force. The team defence has also been great. In the world qualifiers, the team conceded 0.75 goals per game. Currently, no Tunisian player has been suspended on indiscipline matters.
The team dominated and enjoyed an average ball position of above 55% in the African continental encounters. It’s shots on target rates at five shots with a scoring rate of two goals per game. The team enjoys 82% pass completion on average. So far in the qualifiers, they managed to keep a clean sheet in 37.5% of their games. However, the team only scored more than two goals in a single qualifier game that they won 4-1 against Guinea.
England Probable Lineups and Stats
Joe Hart will most likely remain the number one Goalkeeper. Ryan Bertrand will play as the left back while Kylie Walker is likely to be used as the right back choice. Centre will include the in-form Manchester City defender, John Stones and Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones as well as Maguire.
The midfield will have plenty of options with magnificent Dele Alli, inform Manchester United midfielder Lingard, and Eric Dier may play in the positions. The front line is likely to feature the on form Tottenham striker, Harry Kane. Those expected to play in the front include Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and James Vardy. Others include Gomes, Rose, Keane, Livermore, Solanke and Young.
The team comfortably secured their place in 2018 World Cup Finals by maintaining an unbeaten record in the qualifiers. In a total of ten matches, the team won eight and obtained two draws that came from away games. England has one of the best squads to watch in the coming World Cup tournament. Starting from the Tottenham talisman, Harry Kane and Leicester’s James Vardy, the team will offer one of the best forward lines in the world.
The team’s coach Southgate enjoys a massive pool of player selection from the defence, midfield up to the striking force. He will, however, be missing the services of R Loftus-Cheek, who is out on injury terms.
England managed to win 80% of their qualifiers. They achieved a record of 6.5 shots on target with an average goal score rate of 1.9 goals per game. They managed to keep an 80% clean sheet in the World Cup qualifiers. However, they recorded over 2.5 goals scored in only 20% of their matches. On average they manage to record a ball possession of 65% and a passing accuracy of 85% in the qualifier games.
Tunisia v England – Head to Head
England and Tunisia have met only two times in history. The first encounter between the two teams came in June 1996 when Tunisia hosted England in an international friendly match that ended on a 1-1 draw. The second time they met was in the 1998 World Cup first-round matches. England managed to beat Tunisia 2-0.
Tunisia will be joining the tournament for their fifth time now. The team’s World Cup performances have never been good since they first entered the world cup in 1978. They have recorded many losses and several draws in the first round matches in the last four World Cups. Their only win came in 1978 World Cup when they managed to beat Mexico on a 3-1 win.
England first entered in 1950 and successfully qualified for the World Cup except on three occasions: 1974, 1978 and 1994. The team epitome moment came in 1966 when they won the world tournament. They managed to finish fourth in 1990.
The team has successfully reached the quarterfinals six times with the last qualification coming in 2006 World Cup in Germany. However, England recorded a poor performance in 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where they lost two games and managed a barren draw in their first-round matches.
Expert Tip
The two teams will head to this match with great ambitions to display better performances in the World Cup compared to their past participation. England will be banking on their professional and world-class squad while Tunisia will expect to make good results from their in-good-form team. The game will be highly competitive since both sides had a good run in their qualifiers. However, England will be the favourites in this game since they have a superior team.
England are likely to dominate this game with over 60% ball possession. The match is expected to end with under 1.5 goals in the first half and an under 3.5 goals in full-time score considering that both teams have good defences. The match might involve over 12 corners most in favour of England due to its attack line.
England attacker Harry Kane is likely to make his World Cup’s debut goals in this match. England will maintain a clean sheet given the effectiveness of their defence. England might score at least a goal in each half and game could end on a 2-0 score in favour of England.
Interesting Facts and Information
- England haven’t lost in their last 10 games.
- Tunisia wins 1st half in 11% of their games, England in 40% of their games.
- England’s recent performance is better than Tunisia’s.
- In World Cup, England has better performance than Tunisia.
- The winner of their last meeting was England.
- Tunisia scores 1 goals when playing at home and England scores 2 goals when playing away (in average).
- When Tunisia leads 1-0 at home, they win in 100% of their games.
- When England leads 0-1 away, they win in 100% of their games.
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