Gareth Southgate reveals his decision to substitute Harry Kane was due to a bad tackle he sustained in the second-half. Newcastle United's Callum Wilson replaced the Tottenham striker in the second-half and grabbed an assist for Jack Grealish with England's sixth goal of the afternoon.
The Magpies No 9 unselfishly squared the ball for the Manchester City playmaker in the dying embers of the game. Supporters were quick to praise the Toon frontman, when he could have easily taken a shot on goal.
England will now take on the United States in their second game in Group B on Friday night at the Al Bayt Stadium. Kane is expected to start if he's fit.
READ MORE: Kieran Trippier stands up to Iran as England boosted by Newcastle mentality
"I think Harry's fine. It looked like a bad tackle but he carried on in the game. We took him off because we felt it was a moment in the game we could do that," the England boss said in his post-match press conference, via the Mirror.
"Really pleased with our attacking play. We know that Iran are usually very difficult to score goals against, so it's a credit to our players, the way their movement, the quality of our passes, the quality of our finishing.
"I didn't like the end of the game. To concede two goals the way we did isn't the level we need. So we're going to have to be better than the level we were today in certain aspects of our game against the USA.
"Because they're going to be coming for us full throttle and we're going to have to reset. I don't like games that drift as this one did. I understand the focus drifting a little but that won't be enough for us to progress in the tournament. So we've still got a lot to do to qualify."
Southgate had praise for Wilson's role in Grealish's goal, adding: "What I particularly liked is Jack Grealish’s goal. Callum Wilson could’ve come on and been selfish but he’s thinking of the team."
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