World Cup 2018: England vs Tunisia prediction

Tunisia vs England | World Cup 2018, Group G | Monday, June 18 | Volgograd Arena

England kick off their bid for World Cup glory with a Group G clash against Tunisia in Volgograd.

Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad looks settled and in form for this summer's Russia finals, but the team must hit the ground running.

With Belgium among the tournament favourites and lying in wait in the final group game, England will need to get points on the board to ensure a smooth start to the tournament.

Our prediction - Belgium and England to go through

TUNISIA

Unbeaten during their qualifying campaign, Tunisia are making a return to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years.

The Eagles of Carthage qualified for Russia ahead of Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Guinea and will take part in their fifth World Cup. They have never got beyond the group stage.

With a new generation of players including Wahbi Khazri and former Monaco defender Aymen Abdennour, their main goal will be to win a game in Russia.

Key player: Youssef Msakni (Al Duhail) - The 27-year-old forward played a crucial role in qualifying, scoring a hat-trick in an away win to Guinea.

Coach: Nabil Maaloul - A former assistant under Roger Lemerre when Tunisia won the African Cup of Nations in 2002, Maaloul took over from Henri Kasperczak two matches into Tunisia's World Cup qualifying campaign.

ENGLAND

Expectations in England have plummeted because of the team's embarrassing performances in recent major tournaments - exiting the 2014 World Cup at the group stage and losing to Iceland in the round of 16 at Euro 2016.

Having the world's richest and most popular domestic league has had an adverse effect on the England team, whose managers have an increasingly shallow pool of top players to choose from.

A young squad will be taken to Russia, so getting out of the group is as much as can realistically be hoped for.

Key player: Harry Kane (Tottenham) - Emerged as one of the tops strikers in the world this year, scoring freely for his club in the Premier League and Champions League. Has 13 goals in 24 games for England.

Coach: Gareth Southgate - Sceptics are starting to come round to Southgate, who took charge in September 2016 despite having little top-level coaching experience but has shown he isn't afraid to make bold decisions.