Russia World Cup 2018: England-Tunisia game gives us rare goalkeeper substitution after Mouez Hassen suffers injury

The opening minutes of England vs. Tunisia were rough for keeper Mouez Hassen. Although he played well, he had to leave just 15 minutes into the match with an injury. Hassen gave up a goal after an early English onslaught, crumpling to the pitch afterwards. Shortly after, Hassen went down again, and Farouk Ben Mustapha was called upon to enter the match.

What a start for the Three Lions!

Harry Kane taps it home to put England up 1-0 early against Tunisia. pic.twitter.com/vTrhvCGam6

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2018

In the early minutes, Tunisia looked completely unequipped to deal with the English offensive assault, with Harry Kane eventually capitalizing in the 11th minute. In just the second minute of the match, Hassen had to do this:

England nearly get an early goal but Hassen is able to get a toe to it and make the save! pic.twitter.com/YkRQYnHXeT

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 18, 2018

When he came off the pitch, Hassen was understandably emotional.

Tunisia's goalkeeper has to come off injured and he's crying 😭 pic.twitter.com/pgcVGWXtW0

— SB Nation Soccer (@SBNationSoccer) June 18, 2018

Even England’s goal came off of an impressive save from Hassen that Tunisia couldn’t clear, and fans were just starting to get excited.

I'm all sad for #TUN keeper https://t.co/6hLLKnLIAT

— Kirsten (@kdschlewitz) June 18, 2018

Despite Hassen’s strong start, Tunisia found itself in trouble early. It’s always a shame to see someone’s matches end early, especially someone that looked primed for a big start. Frankly, given the way that England came out, it’s a miracle that it took the Three Lions 11 minutes to score.

Coincidentally, Hassen made waves when he was faking injuries during friendlies to give Israeli players a chance to eat during Ramadan fasting breaks. It’s truly a shame that that isn’t the situation here.