The second day of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar saw spectacular pitch action with the inevitable winners and losers from the first games of teams from England, Iran, the Netherlands, Senegal, Wales and the United States.
Here’s a quick guide recapping all you need to know from Monday’s games.
The England-Iran match kicked off at 4pm local time (13:00 GMT).
- England outshined Iran with a decisive 6-2 victory as Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham lifted the Three Lions to victory in Monday’s Group B opener.
- The 19-year-old Bellingham, who drew first blood, gave England a 1-0 advantage, making him the youngest English player to score at the World Cup since Michael Owen in 1998. He is also the first player born in 2000 or later to score in the tournament.
- England, in search of their first World Cup since 1966, dominated possession, controlling the ball 79 percent of the match.
- Saka, 21, also notched two goals, along with Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish.
- Mehdi Taremi struck twice for Iran but it was not enough.
- England faces the US on Friday and will play Wales on November 29.
- Also on Friday, Iran takes on Wales. Iran are then scheduled to play the US on November 29.
The Netherlands and Senegal squared off at Al Thumama Stadium at 7pm local time (16:00 GMT).
- The Netherlands, returning to the World Cup following an eight-year absence, stunned Africa’s highest-ranked team with a 2-0 win.
- After a scoreless first half, Cody Gakpo sent a dazzling header whizzing past Senegalese goalkeeper Édouard Mendy on a strong cross from Frenkie de Jong in the game’s 84th minute.
- Substitute Davy Klaassen put the Dutch up 2-0 late in the match, cashing in on a weak rebound fumbled by Mendy.
- Dutch fans had mixed reactions to the win over Senegal: “I thought it will be easy, but it wasn’t,” Dutch fan Ron Tubee told Al Jazeera. “Senegal were very good, very fast, strong and disciplined,” he added.
- “[Senegal] didn’t deserve to lose. Our first half performance was slow,” fellow Dutch fan Peter Tobben said.
- Senegal’s fans, still reeling from the absence of star forward Sadio Mane, who was ruled out of the World Cup two days before the opening match due to a leg injury, remained optimistic. “In general, we played a good game,” said Abubakar Thiam, who flew to Doha from Paris to watch the match.
- He added: “You know in football you also need luck, and today, we did not have it. We will do better in the next games.”
- Senegal faces host nation Qatar on Friday.
- They finish out their Group A schedule against Ecuador on November 29.
- The Netherlands will also take on Ecuador on Friday, before clashing with Qatar on November 29.
The US faced off against Wales at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium at 10pm local time (19:00 GMT).
- The 22-year-old Timothy Weah — son of former FIFA legend and current Liberian President George Weah — netted the US their first goal on a crafty assist from “Captain America” Christian Pulisic in the 36th minute.
- The first USA goal of the 2022 World Cup sent fans across the United States — from pubs in New York City to parks in Washington, DC — into a frenzy.
- In the 82nd minute, Gareth Bale slid a penalty kick past American goalkeeper Matt Turner to even things up for the Welsh at 1-1.
- In the game’s frantic final minutes, neither team were able to pull ahead, despite an extra nine minutes being added to the clock.
- “The most important thing was that we didn’t lose,” Weah said after the match concluded.
- “Helluva battle,” the US team echoed in a tweet on Monday.
Helluva battle.#USMNT 🤝 @Cymru pic.twitter.com/Sk0RAjRKiM
— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) November 21, 2022
Off the pitch:
For a second consecutive night, football fanatics packed into the fan festival at Doha’s Al Bidda Park to watch England and Iran battle it out via big screen.
A night earlier, the park swelled well beyond its 40,000-person capacity, temporarily overwhelming organisers and police, who scrambled to contain the chaos that resulted from the excess of football fans. By Monday, organisers appeared to have the huge crowds under control.
After England walloped Iran 6-2, some Iranian fans at Al Bidda remained hopeful, despite the blowout.
“In terms of the game, all our hearts are broken but we still have two more games [against] Wales and USA,” said Soman Salamat, a 17-year-old Iranian supporter living in Doha, Qatar.
“So we’re keeping our heads up for that,” he said.
“We missed a lot of chances so if any football fan actually watches the game, it was a good game. I’m proud of our boys.”
Go deeper:
- View the full 2022 World Cup schedule here and be sure to visit Al Jazeera’s AI match predictor to see how your team is projected to perform in Qatar.
