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England World Cup star Reid warns Three Lions about 'acid test' Tunisia

The 32: Peter Reid talks about England’s World Cup campaign ahead of kick-off.
The 32: Peter Reid talks about England’s World Cup campaign ahead of kick-off.

Former England star Peter Reid reckons the Three Lions’ young guns will face a baptism of fire when they commence their World Cup campaign on Monday.

Gareth Southgate’s men have had to wait five days for the Group G clash, but will have the chance to hit the ground running against Tunisia in Volgograd.

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In a quartet also featuring Belgium, Tunisia and Panama are seen as the group’s whipping boys.

But Reid, who played 13 times for his country, warned England against complacency in light of Brazil and Germany failing to win over the weekend against weaker opposition.

He told Yahoo Sport’s daily football show The 32: England will be concentrating on the Tunisia game and making sure they get a positive result – that’s all you can do.

World Cup Group G (PA)
World Cup Group G (PA)

“You cannot jump ahead of yourselves. It is going to be difficult today. Tunisia are a proud nation, some quality players, they will be tough to beat.

“This is not a given for England, we will have to play well, be tight at the back. Even though we qualified well, I still think there are certain question marks about England.

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“The goalkeeper position, I think Pickford will play, He has come from Sunderland, had a great season with Everton but internationally, he is not proven.

“It may be that he will be brilliant, but It is tough for England. They have a lot of young players, a lot of potential, they qualified great, but haven’t done nothing yet. This is the acid test.”