The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group G fixture between Tunisia and England. The game kicks off on the 19th of June at 4:00 AM AEST. The fixture will be broadcast live on SBS.
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Tunisia
- FIFA World Rank: 21
- Elo Rating: 49
- Qualifying: Won Group A with a 4-2-0 record in the CAF Third Round.
Squad:
- Coach: Nabil Maâloul
- Goalkeepers: Aymen Mathlouthi (Al Batin Saoudi/KSA), Farouk Ben Mustapha (Al Shabab Saoudi/KSA), Mouez Hassen (Chateauroux/FRA)
- Defenders: Hamdi Nagguez (Zamalek/EGY), Dylan Bronn (Ghent/BEL), Rami Bedoui (Etoile Sportive du Sahel), Yohan Benalouane (Leicester/ENG), Syam Ben Youssef (Kasimpasa/TUR), Yassine Meriah (Club Sportif Sfax), Oussama Haddadi (Dijon/FRA), Ali Maaloul (Al Ahli/EGY)
- Midfielders: Ellyes Skhiri (Montpellier/FRA), Mohamed Amine Ben Amor (Al Ahly/KSA), Ghaylene Chalali (Esperance Tunis), Ferjani Sassi (Al Nasr Saoudi/KSA), Ahmed Khalil (Club Africain), Saifeddine El Khaoui (Troyes/FRA)
- Forwards: Fakhreddine Ben Youssef (Al Ittifak/KSA), Anice Badri (Esperance), Bassem Srarfi (Nice/FRA), Wahbi Khazri (Rennes/FRA), Naim Sliti (Dijon/FRA), Saber Khalifa (Club Africain)
Recent results:
- Tunisia 0 – 1 Spain
09/06/2018
Friendly, played in Russia - Turkey 2 – 2 Tunisia
01/06/2018
Friendly, played in Switzerland - Portugal 2 – 2 Tunisia
28/05/2018
Friendly, played in Portugal - Tunisia 1 – 0 Costa Rica
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in France - Tunisia 1 – 0 Iran
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in Tunisia - Tunisia 0 – 0 Libya
11/11/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Tunisia - Guinea 1 – 4 Tunisia
07/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Guinea - Congo DR 2 – 2 Tunisia
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Congo DR - Tunisia 2 – 1 Congo DR
01/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Tunisia - Morocco 1 – 0 Tunisia
28/03/2017
Friendly, played in Morocco - Tunisia 0 – 1 Cameroon
24/03/2017
Friendly, played in Tunisia - Burkina Faso 2 – 0 Tunisia
28/01/2017
African Cup of Nations, played in Gabon
Statistics: (last five years):
- H2H Record: 25-19-13
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 50-7
- O/U 1.5 record: 36-21
- O/U 2.5 record: 24-33
- O/U 3.5 record: 12-45
- O/U 4.5 record: 8-49
- O/U 5.5 record: 3-54
- Wins
- Total wins: 25
- Won by 1 goal: 15
- Won by 2 goals: 3
- Won by 3 goals: 5
- Won by 4 goals: 0
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 1
- Won to nil 14
- Losses
- Total losses: 13
- Lost by 1 goal: 9
- Lost by 2 goals: 3
- Lost by 3 goals: 1
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 9
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 57
- Clean Sheets: 21
- Held Scoreless: 16
- Both Teams Scored: 27
England
- FIFA World Rank: 12
- Elo Rating: 7
- Qualifying: Won Group F with an 8-2-0 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification.
Squad:
- Coach: Gareth Southgate
- Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Nick Pope (Burnley)
- Defenders: Kyle Walker (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Kieran Tripp
- Midfielders: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Dele Alli (Tottenham), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace), Fabian Delph (Manchester City)
- Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)
Recent results:
- England 2 – 0 Costa Rica
07/06/2018
Friendly, played in England - England 2 – 1 Nigeria
02/06/2018
Friendly, played in England - England 1 – 1 Italy
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in England - Netherlands 0 – 1 England
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in Netherlands - England 0 – 0 Brazil
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in England - England 0 – 0 Germany
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in England - Lithuania 0 – 1 England
08/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Lithuania - England 1 – 0 Slovenia
05/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in England - England 2 – 1 Slovakia
04/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in England - Malta 0 – 4 England
01/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Malta - France 3 – 2 England
13/06/2017
Friendly, played in France - Scotland 2 – 2 England
10/06/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Scotland
Statistics: (last five years):
- H2H Record: 35-14-9
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 50-8
- O/U 1.5 record: 40-18
- O/U 2.5 record: 27-31
- O/U 3.5 record: 15-43
- O/U 4.5 record: 7-51
- O/U 5.5 record: 1-57
- Wins
- Total wins: 35
- Won by 1 goal: 16
- Won by 2 goals: 10
- Won by 3 goals: 4
- Won by 4 goals: 3
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 1
- Won to nil 24
- Losses
- Total losses: 9
- Lost by 1 goal: 7
- Lost by 2 goals: 2
- Lost by 3 goals: 0
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 4
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 58
- Clean Sheets: 32
- Held Scoreless: 12
- Both Teams Scored: 22
Commentary
Tunisia qualified for the World Cup with an undefeated 4-2-0 record in the CAF Third Round. They shape up to be the Group G team that could be the thorn in the sides of Belgium and England, who are heavily predicted to progress. Since Nabil Maâloul’s appointment as head coach in 2017, Tunisia have gone 4-4-1 and their sole defeat was 1-0 to Spain, who took 84 minutes to unlock their defence. While the rest of their fixtures weren’t against the toughest of opponents, they did draw Portugal 2-2 in May. In team news, Tunisia have been boosted by the pick up in form of attacking midfielder Wahbi Khazrisince after being loaned by Sunderland to Rennes, however in devastating news, creative midfielder and talisman Youssef Msakni will miss the tournament due to injury. He was their main attacking asset. Tunisia have a number of other players fighting to regain fitness after picking up injuries prior to the tournament.
Despite coasting through their qualifying group, in which they went undefeated in 10 games and kept 8 clean sheets, this England side has very little hype surrounding it compared to previous tournaments. This is due to their disappointing performances in the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016. The lack of pressure this year will probably help the side, however. England have also arguably been boosted by coach Gareth Southgate’s selection of a youthful squad based more on form than reputation. Up front, striker Harry Kane has been in scintillating form, scoring 41 goals in 48 appearances for Tottenham this season. He’s been particularly prolific in tournaments, scoring 4 goals in 4 FA Cup fixtures and 7 goals in 7 UEFA Champions League appearances. Kane has been equally impressive for England, scoring 8 goals in 7 games since 2017. One of the talking points surrounding England this campaign is the entire squad is sourced from the English Premier League, which currently features some of the best managers in the world. The argument is that this has helped further develop a number of England’s key players. While there are serious questions over the quality and creativity in central midfield, England on paper do look well placed to push for a Round of 16 or quarter-finals place. The trick will be to overcome this banana skin fixture against Tunisia.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for Tunisia vs. England
Tunisia should be a tough nut to crack. They will have a hard time unlocking England’s defence, however, given the absence of Youssef Msakni and England’s 8 clean sheets in 10 qualifying games. Given 7 of England’s last 8 games went under 2.5 goals, I expect a low scoring affair. A 1-0 or 0-0 scoreline wouldn’t surprise me.
Betting tip: back under 2.5 goals at 1.73 (Mad Bookie)
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more