World Cup Day 5: England with a late Harry Kane winner taken at BSJ Headquarters (Revolution)

(NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)

Revolution

World Cup Day 5: England with a late Harry Kane winner

By Sean Sweeney

Jun 18, 2018 • 7:56 pm

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Couldn't catch all the action in Russia today? Don't worry: BostonSportsJournal.com has you covered, all in quickie form with BSJ analysis and insight:

FIVE THOUGHTS FROM TODAY'S PLAY

Kane delivers for England: England had a fast start, pressuring Tunisia's high-playing back four and coming close to score twice in one sequence during the first five minutes. It wasn't until the 11th minute that Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane buried the rebound of John Stones' header for his first World Cup goal, and England was ahead, deservedly so, 1-0. Tunisia then had to sub Mouez Hassan, its goalkeeper, off in the 14th minute with a shoulder injury in favor of second-choice keeper Farouk Ben Mustapha. But just after the half-hour mark, Manchester City defender Kyle Walker decked Tunisia's Ben Youssef with an armbar in the box, and that led to Ferjani Sassi's 35th-minute penalty strike, leveling the match at 1-1. The Three Lions would continue controlling the run of play and had chances, but in typical England fashion, lacked a finish in a major competition ... until Kane's swinging header at the back post barely a minute into second-half stoppage time gave England a 2-1 winner -- and to rob Tunisia of a deserved draw.

A "New" England? You're having a laugh: This was supposed to be different, right? They changed the Old Guard out, put in some of the Premier League's bright, young stars, gave them the usual unconscionable expectations by the oppressive British media, and the result was ... still rather predictable. Kane's goals aside, Manchester United's Jesse Lingard had a run and a slot late in the first half, but it went off the post. If he's wearing his red United kit, that ball goes in; but since he's wearing England Red, it's off the post. And yes, England came up with the win, but seriously, it should have annihilated Tunisia by three or even four goals.

Belgium has solid second half against Panama for 3-0 win: What if I told you that the third-ranked national team in the world had difficulty in scoring against a World Cup newcomer? Well, I already told you about how Argentina struggled in breaking Iceland down the other day, and it happened again as Belgium -- the team that knocked the US out of the World Cup four years ago -- couldn't dent twine against CONCACAF side Panama in the first 45 minutes, even with plenty of opportunities. The Panamanians, nervy at times, had survived, but the Red Devils finally broke the lines 1:40 into the second half when Dries Mertens, the ball is pinging backward toward the corner of the box, one-timed a volley that Panama keeper Jose Penedo had no chance of stopping. But the Belgians made it 2-0 in the 69th, as Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne crossed in to Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku for a diving header that was nearly offside. It then wrapped the three points up as Lukaku had a flicking finish six minutes later.

Sweden ends scoreless skid with VAR-aided pen: Scoring droughts happen, and Sweden and South Korea both entered Group F on a bit of one: the Swedes hadn't scored in its last 337 minutes dating back to a March friendly against Chile, and with no Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the squad, the lack of scoring has been a spot of concern. South Korea was at 254 minutes. And while there were a few decent efforts to score in this Group F contest, it wasn't until VAR -- and to be honest, it was a clear penalty as Kim Min-woo took down Viktor Claesson from behind -- ruled in favor of a penalty to Sweden, and Andreas Granqvist calmly slotted home from the penalty spot in the 65th minute, ending the drought at 402 minutes and accounting for the 1-nil scoreline. Both teams had their opportunities to score beforehand, but this felt like a field hockey foul fest: 41 fouls were whistled (play for ten seconds, whistle... play for twenty seconds, whistle). South Korea had two bites late, including a near own goal off a corner Sweden didn't have to concede. Poor end of game management by Sweden.

Note to MLS: VAR works, and works well. Use it: We know the officiating in this World Cup wants to get the calls right, hence why they're using VAR. As neutrals, we should have no issue with that. We've already seen three instances of VAR so far in this tournament. And while Major League Soccer has it at its disposal, the fact PRO officials seemingly refuse to use it -- especially in Revolution matches -- or implement it properly, has to burn the britches of American fans watching these matches.

OFF THE PITCH

Sad news for American soccer: Walter Bahr was the captain of the 1950 US men's national team and had the assist for US' lone goal in the Miracle on Grass against England in Belo Horizonte; his sons, Chris and Matt, were Super Bowl-winning placekickers. Matt Bahr, of course, completed his career in Foxborough with the Patriots. The elder Bahr was 91.




STATS OF THE DAY








PLAYERS OF THE DAY


Romelu Lukaku, striker, Belgium; Harry Kane, striker, England






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TOP PLAYS






























WHAT TO EXPECT ON TUESDAY


James Rodriguez

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