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England dominates Tunisia 2-0
Shearer header, Scholes blast put English on board
Posted: Saturday September 26, 1998 11:14 AM
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Shearer got England on the board in the first half with header off a free kick Vandystadt/Allsport |
MARSEILLE, France (CNN/SI)
-- For the English team, there was no talk of hooligans, Gazza or spiritual
advisors. None of that was necessary after England took
care of business and disposed of Tunisia 2-0.
Alan Shearer scored late in the first half and Paul Scholes late in a
game which took place in peaceful sunshine even as fans from the two
countries fought with police and each other outside the stadium.
England dominated the game, but nearly all of its quality shots on goal
came in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Goalkeeper Chokri El Ouaer
stopped the first three, but Shearer connected on the fourth. On a
free kick to the right of the penalty box, Graeme Le Saux chipped the ball
to the Newcastle striker, who headed his shot behind El Ouaer and off the
left post in the 42nd minute. Then, in the 89th minute, following a
second half in which play was largely bogged down in midfield, Paul Ince
fed Scholes for a 25-yard strike just inside the right post. England
would have won by several goals had El Ouaer not made two superb one-handed
saves shortly before Shearer's strike. The first came on Teddy Sheringham's
30-yard volley in the 36th minute, and another came on Scholes' bouncing
close-range header two minutes later. Tunisia used a very
conservative attack from the opening kickoff, passing the ball around
midfield as if trying to run out the clock. Occasionally, there would be a
long pass upfield to either Adel Sellimi or Ben Slimane, but England's
defense prevented any real scoring threat. Tunisia, in its first
World Cup game since 1978, brought on three substitutions to try to pick up
the pace in the second half, but none of its players showed the ability to
finish off a goal, and England keeper David Seaman was never seriously
tested. The game followed three days of the skirmishes involving
hundreds of England and Tunisian fans, local youth and riot police in the
streets of Marseille. During the game, riot police lobbed tear gas to break
up more clashes in the city. Lineups England: David Seaman;
Sl Campbell, Graeme Le Saux, Tony Adams, Gareth Southgate; Paul Ince, David
Batty, Paul Scholes, Darren Anderton; Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham
(Michael Owen, 85th). Tunisia: Chokri El Ouaer; Jse Clayton,
Khaled Badra, Sami Trabelsi, Mounir Boukadida, Hatem Trabelsi (Tarek
Thabet, 79th); Kaies Godhbane, Sirajeddine Chihi, Skander Souayeh (Zoubele
Baya, 45th); Adel Sellimi, Ben Slimane (Imed Ben Younes, 65th).
Referee:Masayoshi Okada, Japan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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