England dominated Iran in their first World Cup group match, taking a 3-0 lead at halftime that would have made even Queen Elizabeth II proud. Jude Bellingham scored the first goal of the season for England followed by Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling. The Iranian team suffered a setback early on after their first choice goalkeeper was stretchered off after colliding with an England player.
During the second half, England scored their fourth goal through Bukayo Saka, before Iran equalized through Mehdi Taremi. 71 minutes later, Marcus Rashford scored England’s 5th, followed by Jack Grealish’s 6th goal in the 90th minute. On the final penalty kick, Taremi scored the last goal for Iran. As a result, Eng defeated Iran 6-2.
๐จ England player ratings vs Iran: Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka shine for the Three Lions pic.twitter.com/y2Q5nqjQFO
โ SPORTbible (@sportbible) November 21, 2022
On a side note, England completed 366 passes in the first half, the second most by a team in the first half of a World Cup game since 1966, after Spain vs Russia in 2018 (395); Iran completed just 46, the fewest by any team in the first half of a game since 1966.
In spite of having a talented set of attacking players, Southgate was under a lot of pressure coming into the World Cup, due to poor form and an extra-cautious system that failed to yield results. But in today’s game, Gareth Southgate gave his players more freedom.
By playing Mount and Bellingham in attacking positions, he was able to create overloads and break down the Iranian defense. In just one half, England demonstrated an effectiveness it hadn’t shown all season. But will it last throughout the tournament?
A goal for Jack Grealish and 90 minutes for John Stones in Englandโs 6-2 win vs Iran. Phil Foden played the final 20 minutes, while Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips were unused substitutes. ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ๐ต @ManCity #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/0c8jREpNyG
โ City Xtra (@City_Xtra) November 21, 2022
Goals in the first half:
Jude Bellingham (35โ)
Bukayo Saka (43โ)
Raheem Sterling (45โ +1)
Goals in the second half:
Bukayo Saka (62โ)
Mehdi Taremi (65โ)
Marcus Rashford (71โ)
Jack Grealish (90โ)
Mehdi Taremi (90โ +13, penalty)
