England begin their 2022 World Cup with a clash against Iran.
Here, we take you through all the things you need to know ahead of the match.
What time is England v Iran kick-off?
England v Iran kicks off at 1pm UK time on Monday, November 21.
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What channel is England v Iran on TV?
The match will be shown live on BBC1. Coverage begins at 12pm, one hour before kick-off.
How do I live stream England v Iran?
The match will be streamed live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
Where is England v Iran being played?
The match will be played at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
What's the team news?
Gareth Southgate has everyone available for the clash against the Iranians except Leicester City's James Maddison, who injured himself in the final game before the World Cup. The game is likely to be too early for Kyle Walker too.
For Iran, Omid Ebrahimi will miss the game due to a groin injury, while Sardar Azmoun is a doubt with a calf muscle injury.
What have the coaches said?
Gareth Southgate: "We recognise the quality of the opposition.
"The group is very tight in terms of the world rankings so it's the hardest and at the beginning everyone has optimism and hope, so always the margins are close in the opening matches.
"We've navigated that well in our last two tournaments but both games were really tight and everybody wants to win the first game.
"The objective is to get out of the group, however you manage to do that, and that's our first objective."
Carlos Queiroz: "It is the most important game of our lives, first of all because it is the next one, and the next game is always most important for the life of coaches and players,' he said on Sunday, ahead of the game.
"But also it is a unique opportunity, even for me, and I have 200-and-something international games.
"But it is the first time I have the opportunity to play against the England national team. And for the majority of our players, to play against England is like magic, a unique opportunity, a gift, because in terms of the international calendar, to play England or Germany is almost impossible.
"This new generation that Gareth Southgate is bringing for the national team in my opinion is probably the most talented, the most competitive English national team since 1966."
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What are the latest betting odds?
England win - 1/3
Draw - 18/5
Iran win - 10/1
(Odds courtesy of Sky Bet, correct at time of publishing. Please gamble responsibly.)
Match facts
- This will be the first ever encounter between England and Iran. The Islamic Republic have never beaten European opposition at the FIFA World Cup (D2 L6).
- England have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the 16th time. It’s their seventh appearance in a row, their longest streak in the competition.
- England set the best goal difference in the group stage of European qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, scoring 39 goals and conceding only three (+36).
- England are the only European team to have reached the semi-finals in each of the last two major tournaments (FIFA World Cup + EURO).
- 12 of England’s last 18 goals at the FIFA World Cup have been scored from set-pieces. In fact, 75% of their goals in 2018 came from dead ball situations (9 out of 12).
- Iran have never progressed past the first round of the FIFA World Cup, winning only two of their 15 matches (v USA in 1998 and Morocco in 2018). This is their sixth participation in the tournament, including their third in a row.
- Iran have scored just nine goals in 15 FIFA World Cup matches; at 0.6, it’s the lowest goals-per-game ratio of any nation to play more than 10 games at the competition. They’ve only netted more than once in one of their 15 games, a 2-1 win over USA in 1998.
- Iran are one of 20 teams to have featured at each of the last two FIFA World Cups in 2014 and 2018 – of those teams, they have had the fewest shots (47), the fewest shots on target (10) and scored the fewest goals (3) in the group stages across those two tournaments combined.
- Gareth Southgate has guided England to the last four in each of his two tournaments as national team head-coach. Only Sir Alf Ramsey can boast a similar record as England boss (WC winners in 1966, Euro semi-finalists in 1968).
- England striker Harry Kane was the top scorer in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with five of his six goals coming in the group stages. No player has ever been top/joint-top scorer at two different World Cup tournaments.
- Despite only playing six times, no Iran player was involved in more goals during the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying than Mehdi Taremi (4 goals, 2 assists).
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