England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has said his side cannot underestimate Tunisia in their World Cup opener as he has first-hand experience of the dangers presented by former Sunderland teammate Wahbi Khazri. Khazri, who spent last season on loan at Rennes from Sunderland, is one of few Tunisia players to have played in Europe’s top leagues, as majority of coach Nabil Maaloul’s squad based in their domestic league.
“I played with Wahbi at Sunderland, so if I get the nod, I’ve got to be ready for his corners because he doesn’t mind whipping them under the crossbar. He is very good at set-pieces and finishing from outside the box, so I have to be ready. I watched the Portugal-Tunisia friendly before we came to Russia and Tunisia are a good side. They will be underrated, so we have to be ready, and the same for Panama. In both games, we’ll be expected to have a lot of the ball and when we create chances, we have to take them and be ready to defend against them as well. But that’s the good thing about the internet. There’s a lot of stuff on there to go and get your research done,” Pickford