England Smash Iran To Kickstart Qatar World Cup Campaign
England started their first FIFA World Cup Qatar Group Stage match off with a bang, scoring 6 goals against Iran.
An excellent performance from the Three Lions, equalling their record amount of goals scored in a World Cup match. Two goals from Saka, as well as Bellingham, Grealish, Rashford and Sterling put England in the driving seat to win Group B.
The surprise inclusion of Harry Maguire at the back had many England fans bewildered, but he came up trumps, posing a threat every time England had a corner.
The match started off well for England who dominated the possession and were always trying to get the ball forward. Their full backs, Shaw and Trippier in particular were having a lot of joy getting crosses in and causing Iran plenty of problems.
However, perhaps the game took a turn when the Iranian goalkeeper, Beyranvand, got injured in the 5th minute, after a clash with his teammate, Majid Hosseini. The match was stopped for a staggering 14 minutes, with the GK wanting to stay on the field, but it became apparent he must be substituted.
From there, England really took the game to Iran and produced expansive, creative football which the Iranians just could not handle.
The first goal came in the 35th minute from a beautiful cross by Luke Shaw, which 19 year old Jude Bellingham headed in the corner, giving the new GK, Hossein Hosseini no chance. Notably it was Bellingham’s first ever goal for England, and it was a terrific way to open his account.
After prolonged English dominance, the second goal came for England in the 43rd minute, this time from a corner kick. Luke Shaw delivered a deep corner which Maguire expertly cushioned down for a majestic Saka half volley. At 2-0 it looked as if the game was over and it would be a long afternoon for the Iranians.
At 45+1 England made it 3, with a superb break where Kane crossed the ball to Sterling who volleyed it into the right corner.
The first half was an imperious performance from England in their first World Cup Group Stage match.
The second half started slowly but England started to find its rhythm again around the 60 minute mark. Another quick break led to Saka getting the ball in the box, and dribbled past two Iran players to slot the ball in the bottom left corner to make it 4.
From there, Iran heads had dropped and England smelt blood. Nonetheless, totally against the run of play, Iran clawed one back from their star striker Taremi. A neat pass from Gholizadeh was blasted into the roof of the goal by the Porto man, which gave Pickford no chance.
After the goal, Maguire left the pitch after getting a concussion, getting replaced by Dier. England made a further 3 subs, Sterling, Saka and Mount off, and Rashford, Grealish and Foden on. And how those substitutions worked! Rashford scored England’s 5th with his first 3 touches, placing the ball comfortably in the bottom left corner.
By this point, at 5-1 England were cruising, passing the ball about and playing some excellent football.
The next goal did not come until the 90th minute when Belligham played a wonderful through ball to Wilson who then squared it to his teammate Grealish for an easy tap-in, making it 6.
As both teams had made 5 subs each, the stoppage time was 10 minutes, which made the total injury time for the fixture a huge 24 minutes in total.
The drama didn’t end in stoppage time, as at 90+13, the Iranians were awarded a penalty for a shirt pull. Their striker Tameni stepped up and placed the ball in the bottom right corner, beating Pickford to make it 6-2.
After the Iranian second goal the full time whistle had blown, seeing England demolish their opponents 6-2. A comfortable day to say the least.
It was a tactically brilliant performance by England who perfected the counter press, and always went forward with conviction.
England Vs Iran – Our Final Words
The full backs of Shaw and Trippier gave England options from the wide positions, and the combination of Saka, Kane and Sterling was just too much for Iran.
However the man of the match must go to the 19 year old, Jude Bellingham, who bossed the midfield, was always looking to get the ball forward, and scored his first ever England goal.
The start for England was exactly what was needed to build confidence in the camp and even give plenty of players in the squad a run out.
Overall a top class performance from the Three Lions who have certainly made their mark on this year’s FIFA World Cup.
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