<P> England played in UEFA Group F in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, in a group of six with Slovakia, Slovenia, Scotland, Lithuania and Malta, with only the winner of the group guaranteed qualification . England went into the qualification process under manager Sam Allardyce, only for Allardyce to leave the post after just one game due to controversy regarding discussing breaking FIFA rules . </P> <P> Under Allardyce's replacement, Gareth Southgate, England went undefeated throughout qualification, winning eight matches out of 10, drawing with Slovenia 0--0 in Ljubljana, and drawing 2--2 with Scotland in Glasgow thanks to a 90th - minute equaliser from Harry Kane . This was the third successive major tournament that England were undefeated, having been undefeated in 2014 World Cup, and Euro 2016 qualifying . </P> <P> Under Gareth Southgate, the England team began their tournament in group G against Tunisia . The game started well for England with a goal from Harry Kane in the 11th minute . Tunisia equalised through Sassi from the penalty spot in the 35th minute following a foul by Kyle Walker . Some controversy followed as various potential offences against Harry Kane, inside the penalty area were ignored by the referee and no VAR checks were carried out . England persevered and scored a second goal in the 91st minute, again by Harry Kane, resulting in a 2--1 victory . </P> <P> In the second group stage match, England surpassed their record for goals scored in a World Cup match by beating Panama 6 - 1 . Jesse Lingard scored the third goal, John Stones scored the first and fourth goals and Harry Kane scored a hat - trick with the second, fifth and sixth goals . </P>

Who did england play in the first round of the world cup