England got off to a winning start in Group G of their World Cup campaign, 2-1. Three out of the four Manchester United players who travelled to Russia played, but how did they perform? The whole nation prayed for a victory in the opening match. No one more so than Gareth Southgate himself. The pressure lifted off his own shoulders as well as the players’ shoulders ahead of the Panama fixture was clear to see. And deservingly so. England dominated proceedings against Tunisia. A rampant first half, minus the lacklustre finishing was a joy to watch. Even in the second half when you could see the energy seeping out of their bodies, they totally controlled the match. Going into the Panama game, England aren’t chasing the points. Knowing they already have three in the bag and the game is not a must win, cannot be underestimated. Because of the win on Monday and also how it came about, England will be in a much more buoyant mood getting back to training knowing that everything they have worked on and planned has been worthwhile. Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young and Marcus Rashford all played some part in the match. Phil Jones sat the match on the bench. It was never likely the centre-half would enter the fray as Southgate looked for a winner with minutes to go. But how did the Manchester United stars perform?<doc-sep>England cruised into the World Cup knockout stage with a game to spare after routing Panama 6-1 in Nizhny Novgorod - but who was the standout performer? Harry Kane scored a hat-trick, while a sublime strike from Jesse Lingard and a double from John Stones saw England move level on points and goal difference with Belgium at the top of Group G. Image: Gareth Southgate embraces Harry Kane as he comes off in the second half Former Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason watched the game on The Football Social - and he gave each of England's players a rating out of 10... Jordan Pickford - 7 He'll be disappointed he didn't keep a clean sheet but I don't think he could have done anything about the goal. Overall, he did well. His positioning was good and he pulled off one decent save in the second half. He did exactly what was asked of him. Kieran Trippier - 8.5 He was one of England's standout players. His ability to create chances, his final ball, and his end product is one of the best in the tournament I've seen so far. I thought he was absolutely outstanding. Kyle Walker - 7 I think he's still learning the position. Not much was asked of him defensively but I still think the best part of his game is being taken away from him when we play as one of three centre-backs. However, you can't' really argue when Trippier is playing so well. I thought he did okay and he did his job. John Stones - 8 England are a real threat at set pieces and Stones benefited from that against Panama. The quality of the delivery has been brilliant and they've obviously been working at it in training. You could see from Stones' second goal that they'd worked on that routine and it paid off. The importance of set pieces cannot be underestimated because when you get to the latter stages of the competition games will be decided on set pieces. It's really encouraging for us. Stones is not known for his goals but his first was a superb finish. Image: John Stones celebrates his second goal of the game Defensively, not much was asked of anybody in the team. The only times that there was trouble was from our own mistakes and our own lapses of concentration. In terms of having much to do as a defender he wasn't asked to do much but what he was asked to do he did well. Harry Maguire - 7.5 I've been really impressed with Harry in these first two games. He's a massive asset in both defence and going forward. Technically he's very good and he's been driving forward from defence. His performances so far have been really encouraging for England. Ashley Young - 7 When you've got Trippier playing so high up the pitch on the right you can almost afford, and it probably works, having Young playing a little bit deeper at times because it gives you that added security. You can't really knock him because he did exactly what was asked of him. Defensively he was sound and always kept the ball moving. He will be happy and Gareth will be happy with his performance. Ruben Loftus-Cheek - 7 He shows glimpses of his quality. There are moments when I think wow, he's a player with real ability. The problem with him in the past is he hasn't been pushed enough by the coaches, managers and the people around him and he hasn't been backed enough. Now he's got Gareth, who is backing him. I'm sure this performance today will give him huge confidence. He's just started a World Cup game in a win for his country. He came in and slotted into the position very nicely. It was a very encouraging 90 minutes for him. Jordan Henderson - 8 He's a real leader for this team. He's Liverpool's captain and you do not captain a club like Liverpool if you're not a leader. For me, in the formation that we play, his role is the most important in the team. Henderson's work goes unnoticed at times but over the course of the two games we've played I would go as far as saying he's consistently been our best player. Image: Jordan Henderson was a standout performer for England, according to Ryan Mason He allows Jesse Lingard, Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling to run forward and vacate that space because they know behind them they've got Henderson, who is very intelligent in the positions he takes up. I was very impressed with him again against Panama, he was one of the standout players. Jesse Lingard - 9 Another standout performer. The relationship between him and Trippier is obviously there because not only is Lingard making the runs, he's being found by Trippier. The intelligence of him seeing space and then running into it is brilliant. He obviously scored a sublime goal to round off his performance but not only that, he also won the penalty for an outstanding bit of movement. I've been so impressed with his energy and his intelligence of where to run at certain times. He's becoming one of the first names on Southgate's team sheet. Raheem Sterling - 7 I feel for Raheem a little bit. It would have been nice if he'd have scored just to prove a few doubters wrong and get a few people off his back. However, in my eyes, England's best 11 includes Raheem Sterling in it. The opening game was England's best 11. The team look like they've got good relationships all over the park. Raheem may not have scored in the opening two games but there's a lot of work that he's done that's helped others. He's taken up some intelligent positions but I'd just like him to be a bit more clinical. He didn't really get any clear-cut chances against Panama but I thought he did his job. Harry Kane - 9 Five shots, five goals so far in this tournament. Incredible! That stat right there shows he's world class. He got a lot of criticism after the European Championships a couple of years ago. He was taking free-kicks from everywhere, he was taking corners and I don't remember him having one chance at the tournament. That's why he didn't score. If you give Harry Kane chances he will score goals. Image: Harry Kane celebrates his second and England's fifth goal So far he's been leading the team from the front and what we've got is a world-class player. He's probably our only world class player in the squad and everyone is working towards creating chances for him. I'm really excited about this England squad and how far we can go because for once it seems like everyone's together and working for what's best for the team. And what's best for the team is getting Kane chances and he's already proven he'll take them. He's already well in the running for Golden Boot and if England can get to at least the last four he'll definitely go close to winning it. He's outstanding. He's clinical and his two penalties were absolutely unstoppable. Subs - Jamie Vardy, Fabian Delph and Danny Rose Image: Jamie Vardy played 27 minutes against Panama Southgate was very clever with his substitutions because when you've got a squad of players you want to utilise all of them and make everyone feel like they will play a big part for the team. It would have been easy to bring on Marcus Rashford and make similar changes to other day but he brought Vardy, Delph and Rose on and from their point of view it will give them a confidence boost. For me, I would like to see a few more players in the squad get a chance against Belgium. I would like to see Southgate rest a few. Not for physical reasons but for the mental side of things. You could make the case for playing your best team at all times to keep the momentum going, but I do expect some changes. Image: Danny Rose replaced Kieran Trippier<doc-sep>Sign up to FREE email alerts from Football London - Spurs Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice England got their World Cup journey up and running with a 2-1 win against Tunisia at the Volgograd Arena in Russia on Monday evening. The London clubs were represented in the Group G match with three Tottenham Hotspur players in the starting XI in captain Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Kieran Trippier, with Eric Dier and Danny Rose on the bench alongside Chelsea's Gary Cahill and Ruben Loftus-Cheek. In the end it was Kane who saved the day with a goal in each half, a late winner in the final minutes sending the England fans into ecstasy. Here's how we rated both teams during the encounter. Tunisia Mouez Hassen GK The keeper made two good early saves from Lingard and Maguire, the first a last-gasp toe away from the goalbound shot before picking up an early arm injury. He still went on to save well from Stones' header only for Kane to power home the rebound. Hassen had to come off in tears after 13 minutes. 5 Dylan Bronn RB The full-back made a fine, long run midway through the second half to win a corner, turning the tables on Young who had been forcing him back. He coped well on the whole with the United man. Made an excellent tackle on Kane with 20 minutes to go as the captain tried to run through on goal. 7 Syam Ben Youssef CB The former Leyton Orient man has a job on his hands trying to keep out the flood of England attacks. Showed some nice touches under pressure at the back at times and defended well but he lost Kane at the vital moment at the end. 6 Yassine Meriah CB Defended so well alongside Youssef and he will have been gutted at that final whistle. 6 Ali Maâloul LB Struggled to deal with Trippier who was finding plenty of space down the right to get crosses in. 4 Ellyes Skhiri DM He tried to move the ball out of a congested midfield and often managed to do so, laying it off neatly to the more attacking players. 5 Ferjani Sassi DM Had a good chance for Tunisia with a shot that was deflected wide on 26 minutes. Made no mistake with a fine penalty into the bottom left corner. 7 Fakhereedine Ben Youssef AM The midfielder took an early whack to the face from Young and sent a header well wide of the England goal near the half hour mark. He won the penalty for his side in the first half and certainly made the most of it. 5 Wahbi Khazri AM The Sunderland man, who was on loan at Rennes last season, battled hard but didn't make much happen. 4 Anice Badri AM Another Tunisia player with fine footwork and he kept possession for Tunisia under pressure on a number of occasions. Offered little going forward though. 4 Naïm Sliti CF The striker sent a wild effort over before the half hour mark to register Tunisia's first chance of the game. He showed plenty of nice footwork during the match in a tough role up front on his own, sending another shot well wide on 71 minutes. Came off soon after. 5 Subs Farouk Ben Mustapha Thrust into the action between the sticks after just 13 minutes and made an early save from Henderson and another from a Maguire header. Couldn't keep out Kane at the death. 5 Ben Amor Replaced Sliti in the striker role with less than 20 minutes to go. Snapped into tackles and won the ball on plenty of occasions. 6 England Jordan Pickford GK The keeper guessed right for the penalty but could only get fingertips to Sassi's effort as it flew into the bottom corner. Had nothing else to do. 3 Kyle Walker CB Picked out Trippier superbly in the first half with a through ball. Swung that arm out though for the penalty decision and earned himself a yellow card to boot. 5 John Stones CB It was his towering header that was saved only for Kane to power home the opener and then he miscued a shot in front of goal five minutes before the break. Did what was asked of him at the back. 6 Harry Maguire CB Saw an early header stopped by the keeper but switched off for a moment on 26 minutes, giving the ball away to the side of the England box. He saw another header saved on the half-hour mark before once again giving the ball away on 37 minutes. Sent another header at goal from a Trippier corner early in the second half but certainly had concentration issues at time during the game which would have been punished by other sides. Made up for it with a late flick on for Kane to score the winner. 6 Kieran Trippier RWB Picked out Maguire with an early corner but the centre-back's header was saved. Then put across a fine low cross on 17 minutes that nobody could quite get a touch on. Sent a direct free-kick wide on 68 minutes. His set pieces and crosses were a real threat for England and it was his corner that set up the winning goal. Created six chances in the game, more than any other player so far at the World Cup. 8 Jesse Lingard AM So close to scoring after just two minutes with his shot saved by the keeper's toe. He fluffed another opportunity on 23 minutes when completely unmarked and saw a shot deflected over before the break. He then touched an effort past the keeper which struck the post. He could have scored a hat-trick, but he ran his socks off before he was replaced late on. 7 Jordan Henderson DM Fired a low shot on 17 minutes that the keeper held. His job was to sit in midfield rather than create and he did that. 6 Dele Alli AM The Spurs man made a great early run but couldn't quite pick out Sterling with his first ball, but managed to knock the loose ball to Lingard who was denied by the keeper. He picked up an injury though during the first half which restricted his movement, but the medical staff decided he was fine for the second half. Struggled to make an impact. 4 Ashley Young LWB He picked out United team-mate Lingard with a great cross on 23 minutes only for him to miscue his volley. However on the whole his attacking play was not as influential as Trippier's. Wasted a free-kick from a great position with just over ten minutes to go. 5 Raheem Sterling CF Fluffed an early shot from six yards but the offside flag was up. Struggled to find a way through after an enterprising early few minutes to the game. Was replaced by Rashford. 3 Harry Kane CF Who else would save the day but the England captain? Both poacher's efforts first following up Stones' saved effort. Should have had a penalty on 38 minutes and in the second half's opening exchanges but nobody seemed to decide they were a foul, even with all the referees in the VAR room in Moscow. But he was still there in the final moments to head home after Maguire's flick on. He didn't seem much of the ball but if you give it to him in front of goal it's likely to end up in the net. That's what world class players do. 8 Subs Marcus Rashford Replaced Sterling and tried to up the tempo. Made a couple of threatening runs into the box. Chose to dummy instead of shoot from a good position late on. 6 Ruben Loftus-Cheek Upped the pace. He embarked on one late run down the left but couldn't get his cross through to anyone. 5 Eric Dier Came on in the final seconds for Lingard. N/A<doc-sep>
Player Ratings as England snatch late win against Tunisia England 2 Tunisia 1. Here's how we rated the England players: Jordan Pickford - 6 The Everton goalkeeper got the nod to start ahead of Jack Butland and Nick Pope, and on his fourth cap, he almost saved a penalty from Ferjani Sassi. He wasn't tested after that. Kyle Walker - 5 Walker started on the right side of a back-three, rather than his natural position at full-back, and started the game well. The Manchester City defender stepped out of the backline early in the first-half and played one pass that split open the Tunisian defence when he found Trippier with a lovely through-ball. However, he was badly at fault for Tunisia's equaliser, hitting his opponent with an elbow rather than heading the ball away. It was always going to be difficult to redeem himself during the game after that brainfart. John Stones - 6 He lost his place at Manchester City in the final months of last season, but Stones is essential to Southgate's side, who aim to build from the back. He was involved in England's opener, when Kane followed-up his header to score, and didn't misplace a pass during the first-half. The best of England's three central defenders on the night, even if he missed a sitter in the first-half. Harry Maguire - 6 Given the nod ahead of Gary Cahill, the most experienced member of England's squad, Maguire started on the left of England's back-three and looked very nervous in the first half. The Leicester defender was loose in possession at times and somewhat sloppy. A better side than Tunisia would have punished his misplaced passes. He was a threat at set-pieces, with England often aiming to find him. He improved after the break and looked more comfortable carrying the ball forward. His header set-up Kane's winning goal in stoppage time. Kieran Trippier - 7.5 A dangerous attacking outlet, particularly in the first-half, Trippier was neat in possession and his passing into the final third was often excellent, creating a couple of chances for his teammates. Ashley Young - 6 The Manchester United winger turned wing-back started ahead of Danny Rose, a specialist in the position, and justified his inclusion with an excellent cross for England's opening goal. Young lofted the ball to Stones who had a free-header. His effort was saved but followed-up by Kane to score. Young was the more defensive of England's two wing-backs, but was solid and neat in possession, he also set-up a chance for Lingard with a dangerous cross to the back-post. Jordan Henderson - 5 He hit one wonderful pass to Alli early in the game, knocking the ball over the Tunisian defence to set the Spurs midfielder through on goal, but, otherwise, Henderson wasn't very ambitious in possession. He appeared nervous taking the ball in the middle of the pitch and tended not to show for a pass when England's central defenders were in possession. The Liverpool captain worked hard though and helped screen the back-three, but his lack of intent in possession, and failure to give a teammate an option for a pass, was a glaring weakness within the team. Jesse Lingard - 5 The Manchester United man was sharp from the first whistle, dropping into pockets of space and linking up with teammates. He had four shots in the first-half alone, hitting the post with one effort. Lingard was a threat in the final third but lacked composure in front of goal. Rarely seen after half-time. Dele Alli - 5 Like the rest of England's attacking players, Alli started well and then drifted from the game as Tunisia were allowed back into it. He appeared to be carrying a knock. Raheem Sterling - 4.5 It wasn't one of his better games. Sterling started brightly, linking well with Kane, and but lost the ball on a couple of occasions, running down blind alleys as the Tunisians crowded him out. He was on the edge of the game throughout, his first-touch often let him down and struggled to have any real impact on the game. Substituted for Rashford with 22-minutes to play. Harry Kane - 7.5 The England captain opened the scoring with a poacher's effort at the back post after 11 minutes. Kane drifted out of the game then - he had the fewest touches of any England outfield player who started the game.