It was a pleasure to watch England play, a relaxing experience and how often has that been written about them during the heat of a major men’s tournament? It had been billed as a likely war of attrition against Carlos Queiroz and his compact and committed Iran team but it was nothing of the sort, England easing towards a statement victory after grabbing a hold of the tie in the first half and squeezing tightly.
It was a feast for the few thousand England fans in attendance, men against boys on the pitch, although it was two of Gareth Southgate’s younger players who charged the occasion. Jude Bellingham became the nation’s second youngest World Cup scorer behind Michael Owen when he started the rout – the centrepiece of a performance of power, skill and precision – while Bukayo Saka deserved his two goals, the first a firecracker, as he radiated menace with his every involvement.
