PAUL SCHOLES turned on the style as England beat Tunisia to leave the fans asking: "Who needs Gazza?" The Manchester United midfielder was handed the task of replacing the Geordie genius in the side and he more than repaid Glenn Hoddle's faith in him with a performance full of maturity and menace. He was a constant threat to the Africans' defence and although he squandered two clear cut chances during the first half - further adding to the pressure on him - he put those misses behind him to seal victory with a wonderful curling shot in the last minute. And afterwards he displayed the same level-headed approach when facing the media as he had taken onto the pitch with him. He admitted: ''People ask me if I was feeling any pressure after replacing Paul Gascoigne and I did feel a bit like that. I felt I had to produce and maybe make or score a goal like I did. I was disappointed with the way I failed to take the opportunities in the first half - they were clear, easy chances. But you can't let that sort of thing worry you or it will affect your game. You've got to put it behind you, and still get in where it hurts to try and score. ''I was very happy when one did go in. It was a great ball from Paul Ince and originally I was going to play it back to him, but I mis-controlled it a bit so I just turned and hit it and fortunately it flew in the net. I've had some highlights in my career - but this has to be the highlight of all. I just hope I can go on and get a few more goals in the tournament.'' Hoddle has referred to Scholes as "the jewel in our crown" and it's obvious he intended all along to hand him the role behind the front two once he realised that Gascoigne was not going to be fit enough for World Cup duty. And after the way he handled the pressure cooker atmosphere of the first game of the tournament it could be that the Middlesbrough ace has cried his last tears in an England shirt. Not that Scholes is taking anything for granted. He said: "I don't feel as if a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It is after all only the first game. There is a long way to go and I've got to reproduce that kind of form in all the games to come. I must admit that after not playing in Morocco I didn't know what was happening so when I found out on Saturday that I was playing I was highly delighted. Now we've got this first win under our belts we hope we can take things on in a positive manner.'' Captain Alan Shearer was very impressed with his young teammate. He said: "I was delighted for Paul that he scored that goal. If you can call it a chance, it was by far and away the hardest of the three that fell to him and it will help take the pressure off him because people are looking to him to replace Paul Gascoigne. He's a great little player and I thought he had a tremendous game. "The performance was never going to be important in comparison with the result, but to gel the two together is superb for us and if we needed it, it will give us even more confidence for the next two matches. I enjoyed the final whistle far more than scoring my goal but it was a great feeling to make it one in one, especially when the weight of expectation regarding goals is particularly heavy on me. This might keep people quiet for at least a couple of days. We're close to doing the first part of the job, which is qualifying for the second stage. But we mustn't get carried away, it's only one win."

FOOTBALL365 SAYS�   ENGLAND did all that was required of them against Tunisia as they got their World Cup campaign off to an excellent start. The performance was by no means scintillating, and neither was the opposition, but it was a comfortable victory with plenty of plus points for Glenn Hoddle. David Seaman had very little to do but, when called on, he showed his usual calm assurance; the central defensive trio looked very solid, with Sol Campbell making some encouraging breaks upfield; wing backs Graeme Le Saux and Darren Anderton looked good travelling in both directions, with the Tottenham man doing more than enough to justify his selection ahead of David Beckham; and Paul Ince and David Batty mopped up everything in the middle. And, at the other end, Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes came up with the goals to kill off the Tunisian challenge. Scholes has been handed the task of replacing Paul Gascoigne and he did so admirably, although he will have been relieved to see his last minute shot fly into the top corner having missed two easy chances in the first half. And then there is Shearer. It's widely accepted that if England are to win the World Cup then the captain is going to have to score the goals that will separate the best from the rest. And the good news for Hoddle is that the weight of expectation seems to rest easily on the Newcastle striker's shoulders. He is now 100% fit, and 100% hungry, and is clearly relishing the opportunity to show the rest of the world that he is right up there with the best when it comes to the business of putting the ball into the back of the net. He had one chance on Monday, and it was the only one he needed to open his account at France 98. Tunisia are undoubtedly the weakest team in Group G - frankly they were little more than a shambles and represented virtually nothing in terms of an attacking threat - but England dispatched them in a confident manner that should rightly give them heart for the next two matches. Romania and Colombia will provide a more serious test of England's ambitions, but it's a test that they should be more than capable of passing.

TALE OF THE TURF		THE MATCH STATS
Team Name England Tunisia Goals 2 0 Shots On Target 5 3 Shots Off Target 2 6 Blocked Shots 4 2 Corners 10 3 Fouls Conceded 12 25 Offsides 0 0 Red Cards 0 0 Yellow Cards 1 3		England (1) 2 Tunisia (0) 0 England: Seaman (6), Campbell (8), Adams (6), Southgate (7),Le Saux (8), Anderton (7), Ince (7), Batty (6), Shearer (8),Sheringham (7) (Owen (6) 85), Scholes (9). Subs Not Used: Flowers, Martyn, Keown, R. Ferdinand, Neville,Beckham, Lee, McManaman, Merson, L. Ferdinand. Booked: Campbell. Goals: Shearer 42, Scholes 90. Tunisia: El Ouaer (7), H. Trabelsi (6) (Thabet (7) 79),S. Trabelsi (7), Badra (7), Boukadida (6), Clayton (6), Ghodbane (6), Chihi (6), Souayah (6) (Beya (6) 45), Ben Slimane (6) (Ben Younes (6) 65), Sellimi (8). Subs Not Used: Boumnijel, Salhi, Chouchane,Jaballah, Bouazizi, Ben Ahmed, Jelassi, Melki. Booked: Clayton, Ben Younes, Ghodbane. Att: 54,587 (crowd rating: 7) Referee: M Okada (Japan) 6.

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