The poor luck of the North African teams at the World Cup struck Tunisia on Monday. After Egypt and Morocco lost their games to injury-time goals, Tunisia followed suit, succumbing to Harry Kane‘s late header as England won 2-1.
That sucker-punch goal undid some great work by Tunisia’s players, who had fought hard to hold on for a draw.
Here’s how the players rated.
STARTING XI
Mouez Hassen 7 – Pulled off a stunning save in the build-up to England’s goal, made even better by the fact that he was dealing with an injury at the time. Succumbed to that shoulder complaint.
Dylan Bronn 7 – A steady presence in defence, reading the game well when required and standing up well to the pace and trickery of players like Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, and Marcus Rashford.
Syam Ben Youssef 8 – Led his defence superbly as Tunisia withstood an England onslaught. Unlucky to be on the losing end of that game.
Yassine Meriah 6 – Was beaten in the air a little too easily, although acquitted himself well otherwise as Tunisia tried to soak up the England pressure.
Ali Maaloul 5 – Came under a lot of pressure on the left flank, as England seemed to target that side. Struggled to deal with the attacking threat.
Ellyes Skihiri 5 – Was beaten far too handily in the tackle, as England’s twinkle-toed midfielders and forwards found it easy to dribble past him.
Anice Badri 6 – Kept possession well, distributing the ball neatly when under pressure, which was quite often as England dominated.
Ferjani Sassi 7 – Coolly slotted home a penalty to level the scores and given Tunisia hope of taking something from this game.
Naim Sliti 6 – Was Tunisia’s brightest attacking threat on the night, showing brief glimpses of skill and drive that kept England’s rearguard honest.
Fakhreddine Ben Youssef – Tidy with his possession, although lacking incision on the rare occasions he had the chance to make an attacking impact.
Wahbi Khazri 5 – Khazri can be a devastating presence in attack but had little impact here, a consequence of Tunisia’s defensive game plan.
SUBSTITUTES
Farouk Ben Mustapha 6 – Came on for the unfortunate Hassen in the first half. An assured presence in goal, although once came charging off his line recklessly.
Mohamed Ben Amor 4 – Defended stoutly from open play after coming on, but lost Kane completely on the corner that led to the England captain scoring the winner.
Saber Khalifa 5 – Unable to hold up possession when required, or help Tunisia be a threat on the counter.
