FRANCE 98 – Match Summary n°16

Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes struck at the end of each half to give England an unimpressive 2-0 win over Tunisia in their opening World Cup Group G match here on Monday.

Shearer put England on course when he struck in the dying minutes of the first-half, rising high to Graeme Le Saux’s free-kick to head his 19th international goal. But Tunisian goalkeeper Chorki El Ouaer can take the blame as he rushed out with no chance of getting there and was left grasping at thin air as the ball sped past him. Scholes made it 2-0 in the 89th minute when he curled in a 16-metre shot to make the score more respectable but it could not hide the fact that England looked far from being one of the tournament favourites.

Scholes also missed two first half chances. Shearer’s 42nd minute goal was just reward for England, trying to repeat their 1966 success, after they put constant pressure on the north African defence. Both sides deployed 3-5-2 formations and Darren Anderton replaced David Beckham at right-wing back, while Scholes was handed Paul Gascoigne’s creative midfield role. Scholes should have scored after 30 minutes when he had a free header in the six yard box but the ball went straight to keeper Chokri El Ouaer. Six minutes later El Ouaer pulled off a brilliant save when Teddy Sheringham turned and let rip with a fierce volly from just outside the area. El Ouaer got a fingertip to the ball to deflect it off the crossbar.

Another golden opportunity went begging when Sheringham floated a perfect cross to Scholes but the Manchester United star completely mis-timed his shot and the ball went straight into the goalkeeper. England had to survive an early scare when after only four minutes Tunisia could have been one up when Adel Sellimi found the on-rushing Skander Souayah in space racing towards the 18-yard box. With England’s defence pulled out of position, Souayah was given a clear sight of goal from just outside the area, but his driven right-foot shot was superbly blocked by Sol Campbell.

England took nearly 20 minutes before they launched a serious threat on the Tunisian goal. Again it was Campbell in the thick of the action. The 23-year-old Spurs player ran fully 20 metres up the left before slipping the ball to Scholes bursting into the area. Captain Sami Trabelsi and Khaled Badra quickly moved in on the United player to give away the corner. England tried to get a second to put the match out of reach but despite dominating they were unable to deliver the final pass.

Tunisia nearly caught England out when Jose Clayton broke down the left. He took the ball to the byeline before pulling back to Zoubele Baya, brought on by coach Henry Kasperczak at the start of the second half. Baya fired in a first time shot that slipped inches over the bar. A brave save by El Ouaer stopped Tony Adams from putting his name on the score sheet after a Sheringham pass found him all alone inside the six-yard box. El Ouaer rushed out and dived at the Arsenal captain’s feet to block the ball which bounced clear.