England got its FIFA World Cup campaign off to a flying start as the Three Lions beat Iran 6-2, courtesy of a double from Bukayo Saka, with Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish adding to the goals, at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
In attack, England started with Harry Kane, supported by Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling on the flanks. Iran had FC Porto striker Mehdi Taremi up front, with Ehsan Hajsafi and Jahanbakhsh supporting.
Midfielder Jude Bellingham opened the scoring with a header to put England ahead in the 35th minute. It was the Englishman’s first for his country. Winger Saka then struck a brilliant volley to extend England’s lead to make the scores 2-0.
In first half injury time, Sterling ran onto a pass from Kane and fired past Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand to give England a 3-goal lead going into the break.
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In the second half, Sterling then turned provider when Saka ran onto his pass, dribbled past three (3) Iran players and calmly placed the ball past the goalkeeper, for his second goal of the day to make the scores 4-0.
However, England were given a wake-up call when Taremi pulled a goal back for Iran in the 65th minute, converting from a tight angle to make the game more interesting.
Six (6) minutes later, substitute Marcus Rashford added a fifth for England with just his third touch after coming onto the pitch, before another substitute Jack Grealish added England’s sixth in the 90th minute.
In injury time, the referee awarded a penalty to Iran after a VAR review found John Stones holding onto the shirt of Taremi in the box. The striker stepped up for the spot kick, keeping his cool while sending goalkeeper Jordan Pickford the wrong way to make the scores 6-2.
Despite Iran’s late goal, England had done enough to claim all three points as they won in spectacular fashion.
An impressive #ENG display 👏@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 21, 2022
England now lead in Group B, with Wales and USA scheduled to play later in the day.
England will face USA in its second group game on Friday, November 25th, while Iran take on Wales on the same day. The winners of Group B will face the runners-up from Group A, containing Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador and hosts Qatar. The runner-up in Group B will face the winners of Group A.
