England beat Tunisia in U20 World Cup opener on Scarlett header

Updated: Oct 12, 2023, 03:17 pm
England players celebrate after scoring a goal against Tunisia at the U20 World Cup.
England players celebrate after scoring a goal against Tunisia at the U20 World Cup.
Getty Images

England beat Tunisia 1-0 in their U20 World Cup Group E opener on Monday at the Diego Maradona Stadium in Buenos Aires.

Ian Foster's side dominated the first half and took a deserved 1-0 lead into the break after Dane Scarlett outmuscled his marker and headed Harvey Vale's whipped-in cross past Tunisia keeper Dries Arfaoui in the 25th minute.

Tunisia looked brighter in the second half, but England largely maintained control of the match and saw out a one-goal win to take top spot in Group E.

"We controlled the game from start to finish. It is true we could have been a bit more ruthless, though," England coach Foster said. "The boys were a little nervous, it is normal for the first game. There was a lot of anticipation ahead of this tournament."

England face Uruguay on Thursday in their next match before closing out group-stage play against Iraq on Sunday.