KEIR RADNEDGE in RUSSIA —- England’s football pre-eminence has faded, over the last century, rather like the grand old empire itself. This sub-plot always adds spice to the Three Lions’ appearance at the World Cup, one launched in Volgograd with a 2-1 victory over Tunisia.

Harry Kane struck the goals, one early and one very late, but that was enough to allow England to boast that they– unlike current World Cup holders Germany and fellow previous champions Brazil and Argentina – had won their opening game.

History should be a source of education and elucidation but in football, as in geopolitics, the human condition plays games with notions of progress.

Modern association football was devised in England in the mid-19^th century but the ultimate irony remains that the laws of the people’s game were set down by the upper classes in their so-called ‘public’ schools and universities.

Harry Kane . . . that winning, goalscoring feeling

England, and the other three British associations, were late joining FIFA and late entering the World Cup. Victory, a late revindication of the foundation status courtesy of Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton & Co, was achieved memorably in 1966. But every subsequent campaign has been fraught.

England failed to qualify in 1974, 1978 and 1994 and failed to escape enormous over-expectation as well as the group stage in 1950, 1954, 1958 and 2010.

Premier conundrum

Expectations among foreign fans are also over-charged because all the world watches the Premier League with little comprehension that this has little or nothing to do with the England team. The stars, largely, are foreigners.

Manager Gareth Southgate had a comparatively small group of players from which to pick, one reason behind a lack of debate over the squad he brought to Russia. By and large the vast majority of players picked themselves.

This was the first time England had won their opening game at a major tournament since beating Paraguay 1-0 at the 2006 World Cup and Tunisia have now gone without a win at the finals in 12 games since 1978.

In Volgograd England started off at a gallop, could have scored twice in the first four minutes and went ahead with a tap-in from captain Harry Kane in the 11^th minute. Injured goalkeeper Mouez Hassen failed to hold a header by John Stones from an Ashley Young corner and Kane pounced.

Instead of pushing on, however, England found themselves tied down by the hard-working Tunisians. Ferjani Sassi had a shot deflected for a corner by Harry Maguire then equalised from a penalty after Kyle Walker had pushed down Fakhreddine Ben Youssef.

Jesse Lingard hit a post just before the interval after which England dominated possession but created next to nothing until the first minute of stoppage time when Kieran Tripper’s right-wing corner was flicked on by Maguire and Kane pounced once more.

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