Southgate post draw reactions

CAIRO – 2 December 2017 : The draw put England alongside Panama, Tunisia and Belgium in Group G. England’s first game in the World Cup will be against Tunisia, the game will recall memories for England manager, Gareth Southgate.

“For me, the game with Tunisia is a memory of France in 1998 when we played the first game down in Marseille. It was a fantastic occasion and that’s a game which stays in my memory for a good few years.” Southgate told FA official website after the draw.

Southgate was playing for England when they opened their 1998 World Cup games with a 2-0 victory over Tunisia, thanks to Alan Shearer’s and Paul Scholes’ goals.

Southgate spoke about the other two opponents in the group, he said, “We don’t know so much about Panama at the moment, but of course we have a couple of months now to catch up on it.”

Southgate added, “Belgium is an exciting one for us. I know their manager, Martinez, really well and I’ve been friends with him for quite a while so it really is a fantastic game for everybody.”

Southgate hopes to repeat England’s best achievement in the World Cup when they won the tournament in 1966.