If there were any actual doubts surrounding England entering the World Cup, England made a case to dispel them to the tune of a commanding 6–2 win over Iran in the Group B opener.
Amid protests in Iran and calls for the squad to be disqualified from the World Cup, Iran’s biggest statement on the pitch came before the opening whistle by refusing to sing the team’s national anthem in an apparent protest. But after kickoff, Team Melli was clearly out of their depth against a well-organized England team.
The Three Lions scored three goals on either side of halftime, led by two goals from Arsenal star Bukayo Saka and two assists from captain Harry Kane, in a game that featured 24 minutes of stoppage time due to a combinations of injuries and goals.
England set the tone early with plenty of possession while Iran sat back—a trend that continued throughout the match. During a corner in the third minute, England clamored for a penalty when Harry Maguire appeared to be pulled to the ground by an Iran defender, but play continued on.
Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand needed lengthy treatment on the pitch in the ninth minute after a face-to-face collision with an Iran defender while trying to defend a dangerous England cross. The delay lasted five minutes before Beiranvand was cleared to continue, but within a minute Beiranvand was down again asking to be subbed off.
Team Melli continued to hold firm with their defensive approach, sitting nearly every player in its own half while committing fouls to break up play. In the 30th minute, England held a whopping 85% of the game’s possession.
In the 32nd minute, England had its best chance yet off a corner when Maguire fought past his defender and headed the cross goalbound before it rattled off the crossbar.
Just minutes later, 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund phenom Jude Bellingham gave England the lead by turning in Luke Shaw’s cross for his first-ever goal for England.
In the 43rd minute, Saka doubled England’s lead with a stellar volley from inside the box. Off a corner, Maguire caused trouble once again by heading a cross into the middle of the area where Saka smashed it over the Iranian keeper.
The floodgates opened before halftime with Raheem Sterling scoring a third goal for England. In the first of 14 stoppage-time minutes, Sterling made a near-post run and redirected a Kane cross into the back of the net.
To start the second half, England fans were given a minor scare when Kane was taken down from behind as a defender appeared to land on Kane’s ankle. But the England captain was able to continue after treatment on the pitch.
In the 62nd minute, Saka notched his second goal of the game. The Arsenal star took the ball just inside the penalty area and was given plenty of time to maneuver around a host of defenders, faking movements toward goal before curling the ball into the back of the net.
But Iran pulled one back in the 65th minute, taking advantage of Maguire’s inability to cover a darting run in the box as Mehdi Taremi cut the England lead to 4–1. Shortly after, Maguire was subbed off due to an apparent injury.
In the 71st minute, Marcus Rashford made an instant impact after coming off the bench. The Manchester United star took a pass from Kane on the right wing, cut inside and easily finished for England’s fifth goal of the day.
England kept pushing, scoring a sixth goal in the 89th minute courtesy of Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, who took his time in front of goal for the easy tap-in.
In the 13th minute of second-half stoppage time, Iran added a late consolation goal when VAR awarded a penalty to Team Melli for a John Stones foul. Taremi stepped to the spot and converted his second of the match, to end the scoring at 6–2.
Next up for England is a Black Friday showdown with the United States, while Iran will take on Wales in the second Group B game.
Here were the lineups for both teams:
Full World Cup squads:
England
GOALKEEPERS: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
DEFENDERS: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Coady (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Arsenal)
MIDFIELDERS: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (West Ham)
FORWARDS: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Tottenham), James Maddison (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea), Callum Wilson (Newcastle)
COACH: Gareth Southgate
Iran
GOALKEEPERS: Amir Abedzadeh (Ponferradina), Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Hossein Hosseini (Esteghlal), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan)
DEFENDERS: Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Ehsan Hajsafi (AEK Athens), Majid Hosseini (Kayserispor), Abolfazl Jalali (Esteghlal), Hossein Kanaanizadegan (Al-Ahli), Shojae Khalilzadeh (Al-Ahli), Milad Mohammadi (AEK Athens), Sadegh Moharrami (Dinamo Zagreb), Morteza Pouraliganji (Persepolis), Ramin Rezaeian (Sepahan)
MIDFIELDERS: Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Saeid Ezatolahi (Vejle), Saman Ghoddos (Brentford), Ali Gholizadeh (Charleroi), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord), Ali Karimi (Kayserispor), Ahmad Nourollahi (Shabab Al-Ahli), Mehdi Torabi (Persepolis)
FORWARDS: Karim Ansarifard (Omonia), Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen), Mehdi Taremi (Porto)
