England 6 vs 2 Iran summary: goals, stats and highlights | 2022 Qatar World Cup
England - Iran: as it happnened
Aaaaaaaaaand that all!
FT: England 6-2 Iran
England never looked troubled today against Iran. They created from the first minute to the last and had such variety when doing so. Harry Maguire was a constant threat from set pieces from Shaw and Trippier and looked like he was back to the version that the country fell in love with.
As for the forwards, they were electric. Saka tried constantly to get in behind and managed two great goals, as did Rashford when he came on, finishing with fantastic technique. The substitutes came at the right time and gave a fresh feel to the attack, just as things started to Geta bit sloppy.
Bellingham, where do I begin?What a magical performance from him in the middle of the pitch, alongside Rice. He contributed in attack, defence and progressed the ball superbly all game. He was a delight to watch and could well be the star of the tournament if he keeps performing like that.
The confidence will be running wild through this England side and it is just what they need for tough games coming up against USA and Wales.
Is it... coming home?
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OK, everyone, that's all from me today! I'm off for a late lunch, thanks to all that added time.
I hope you enjoyed the coverage of a pretty wild England team, let's hope they're like that every game!
It's football unlimited this month. In case you weren't aware, Senegal vs Netherlands on now and AS USA is back for more this evening with live coverage of USA vs Wales!
Sofascores keeps it coming
He's not in bad company, is Jude. Must've surely put a few million € onto his transfer value after that performance. Were you watching, Papa Florentino?
So, Gareth was a happy manager, right?
No, not really.
"It's a great start but we're going to have to be better," he said. "We lost concentration but when we play at a slower tempo, we're not anywhere near as effective.
"Our defence in the first hour or so controlled the game. The midfield were excellent: both Declan and Jude and our forwardslookedathreat.
"I'm a miserable so-and-so, I should be more excited but I've got to keep this team on the right track!"
I'm sure he's happy, really.
Make sure to hang on for all the post-match reaction as it comes in!
Can they do it this time?
Is it time to dream, England fans?
No, it's not. They beat Iran. But it's nice to be happy.
Here's the Grealish goal, illustrated by Opta
See what I mean?
Calm possession...
Calm possession...
Calm possession... BANG!!
"Faultless" John Stones display
Can't really argue with those stats, can you?
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And he scores!
Sends Pickford to the left, he shoots to the right.
Taremi steps up...
PENALTY TO IRAN!
Apparently Stones had someone's shirt in the box when the cross came in...
Oh, the ref has been called to VAR...
checking for a possible penalty on a shirt pull.
A dangerous free kick on the right for Iran but Pickford flies out to punch it away.
Off the bar from Azmoun! Pickford just got a slight touch from the one-on-one.
England have finally calmed down. I think they'll just see this out now.
Ha, even I don't believe that.
Iran cross into the box, England counter (copy and paste). Another dangerous attack but the ball for Wilson is too heavy.
What a variety of goals we've seen today: England have broken down the defensive block with passes, dribbling, long shots, set pieces - the lot.
Southgate will also surely be delighted with the attitude of the players, the side hasn't let their foot off the gas until now, and even then they look dangerous.
England tapping the ball around, it looks like they're done now.
10 minutes added on.
Yes, ten.
GOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL GREALISH MAKES IT SIX
The same as always, England knocking the ball around before one line-breaking pass finds Wilson on the right. He runs down the wing on his own and puts the ball on a plate for the Manchester City man to tap home.
Into the last minute... England still looking for goals.
Shaw attempts to find Wilson with a clipped ball behind Iran's defence, but the goalkeeper does well to read it. His delivery has been excellent today.
Iran have one of those counter attacks that aren't really counter attacks. Trippier cuts it out and England go again.
Rashford has been fantastic since coming on, he's had the confidence to try to break the lines and take people on. A constant threat.
Into the last ten minutes now and England have started to slow things down a touch: they're keeping a lot of deep possession.
Nope! It's all a trap! The ball breaks forward as Iran creep out of their cave and Rashford dances inside the box before he hits a snapshot into the crowd of players.
Back underway.
Hajsafi looks to be OK, he's back on.
A stoppage in play now as Hajsafi is down with what looks like a muscle strain.
England look absolutely hardwired into battering Iran to a pulp. Their passing is sharp again after a few moments of a wobble (the subs have helped).
There's definitely time for more.
Huge cheer as Azmoun comes on for Noorollahi.
Taremi gets behind Dier after a nice pass into the channel, but his shot is wide.
ON: Kane
OFF. Wilson
England are absolutely cruising and yet they are still pressing like crazy. This is relentless. Iran will be delighted to get off the pitch and into the bath at full time.
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL RASHFORD!!
A lovely left foot finish under the goalkeeper with his first moment on the ball. He receives the ball, takes a touch, bang. 5-1.
England changes
OFF: Sterling, Mount Saka
ON: Rashford, Grealish, Foden
Quite rightly, Eric Dier allowed to come on.
Pickford (obviously) is straight over to the ref. I guess he's not saying very nice things to him.
We're back underway with England players complaining they've only got 10 men on the pitch.
Harry Maguire has gone down injured and is being replaced
Iran subs (from earlier):
OFF: Chesri, Mohammadi, Karimi, Jahanbakhsh
ON: Ezatolahi, Gholizadeh, Kanaani, Torabi
GOAL FOR IRAN
4-1
Lonely man Taremi gives the Iranians something to shout about. A lovely through ball slips behind England's defensive line and Taremi's excellent movement is quicker than the defenders.
He smacks a thunderbolt off the crossbar and into the back of the net from close range.
GOOOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL
SAKA GETS HIS SECOND
Saka takes the ball from Sterling on the right wing. He cuts inside on his left foot and hits a beautiful curling effort into the far corner from just inside the box. Two for the Arsenal man.
And that's how England are doing it today. From head tennis to a curling effort into the top corner in seconds. Bang.
No real possession for either team in the last few minutes. England look sloppy and Iran look, erm, terrible.
Lots of long balls and a bit of head tennis. The World Cup, eh.
Poor Taremi has looked lonelier than the third man they left in the Apollo spacecraft while the rest of them jumped around on the moon. He's not had a decent touch all game.
A bit of a breather for Iran as Halsafi is fouled in his own half.
Well, it could have been. England win the ball back instantly.
A succession of corners for England come to nothing, but the pressure is still on for Iran.
Sterling and Kane link up well in the middle of the pitch but Iran get back well to block the shot.
Iran definitely look livelier, if not any better. They're trying to attack when they get the chance and their press is leading to more loose balls than in the first half.
Trippier to take...
into the wall.
Kane is back on.
Ouch. Shocking challenge from behind on Kane. Pouraliganji, it was.
Dangerous free kick for England but Kane is still down holding his ankle.
Callum Wilson warming up.
Carlos Queiroz obviously gave his side a good talking to at the break. They've come flying out of the blocks and are pressing extremely high.
Here we go! Saka kicks us off for the second half.
The players are back on the pitch for the second half
Harry Maguire's stats
This is the same guy that gets ridiculed at Manchester United, yeah?
Aaaaand there we go! First half done!
HT: England 3-0 Iran
England looked superb there. The quick passing in the final two thirds has nullified Iran from any sort of attempt at defending. Rice and Bellingham look levels above and are perfect players to start off the multitude of attacks that England have had.
If it's not Saka down the right, it's Shaw on the left creating chance after chance against a weak defensive block. Set-pieces have been a constant threat from Shaw and Trippier, with Maguire looking back to his 50p head best.
The two goals in quick succession looked to have completely demoralised Iran, who haven't had a chance of any worth. Maybe Jahanbakhsh should have hit the target with the volley, but that's being picky.
Let's see how the second half plays out.
The quick touches in the midfield are killing Iran. Maguire and Stones take their time in the build-up but as soon as it pops in to England's middle line, it's short, sharp direct passes forward.
A shot for Iran! Jahanbakhsh with a volleyed effort after a break down the left. The ball was played over to him on the right and he spooned it over.
Added to that, it was offside anyway.
Iran have a counter attack... well, no, I'm being generous. They played a pass forward and England cut it out.
England could have made a pig's ear of this but they've managed it really well. Iran have been drawn towards the ball and England have snapped into action in the right moments.
From there, they've either won a set piece and scored/threatened or had a dangerous attack from wide areas.
Rice and Bellingham look so assured in the middle of the pitch.
Iran look on the ropes, here. This could get messy if they don't settle it down.
A defender just missed the ball inside their own box and Saka almost got on the end of it.
14 minutes added
(time for any more goals?)
GOOOOOOOOALLLL STERLING!! IT'S THREE!!
Give me time to write, Sterling!
England break away down the right, and Kane fires in a cross for Sterling to flick in with the outside of his boot.
That was electric. England on fire as we head into added time.
GOOOOOLLLAAAAAAAZOOOOO SAKA!!
What a hit!
The corner is swung in and the knock down arrives at Saka, who slaps a left footed shot into the top-right corner from just inside the box.
Iran are having all sorts of problems from England's threats in the air, Harry Maguire is getting on the end of everything.
Iran's front line seems to press high, but every time England get past they scramble back into a deep low block. England are constantly looking out wide to get in behind the defensive unit.
England had been threatening, and probably deserve to be ahead. Iran haven't had a sniff as of yet.
They're content with keeping relaxed possession but more than ready to pounce, like, well, lions.
GOOOOAAAALLLLLL ENGLAND!!
BELLINGHAM 1-0!!
Man of the moment Jude Bellingham makes a beautiful run as the ball comes in from the left. Bellingham wraps himself in his cloak of invisibility before popping up in the middle of the box and directing a header into the far corner.
It was a great cross from Luke Shaw, and the header gets better every time.
MAGUIRE OFF THE BAR
Trippier's corner makes contact with Maguire and he rifles a header off the crossbar.
Bit of pinball in the box, now. England seem to have cranked things up a gear.
They've got a corner...
CHANCE. MOUNT.
A slow build up flicks into crazy mode as Trippier slips in Saka whose cross finds Mount, but his shot hits the side netting,
A half chance for Saka as he receives the ball on the edge of the box and swings a tame shot to Hosseini. He'll need a lot more venom to get on the scoresheet.
Saka penalised for a foul on Karimi. A revenge foul, I'd say.
A yellow for Jahanbakhsh; Iran are making things uncomfortable for England, mainly by kicking them really hard.
Iran are seeing slightly more of the ball in the last few minutes and are putting England under more sustained pressure off it.
England won't mind, as gaps will form if Iran jump to press.
Dangerous free-kick for Iran on the left wing cleared. The cross went all the way over everyone's head, twice - one from the left and then one from the right.
Iran's GK change
OFF: Beiranvand
ON: Hosseini
We're back underway.
More possession for England.
Beiranvand off on a stretcher. Such a shame for him.
England doing rondos while we wait.
It looks like he's able to continue...
Nope. He's doing the universal spinning-hands substitute gesture. Change incoming.
Iranian goalkeeper down injured. He appears to have taken a heavy knock to the head during that save.
He's back on his feet, but it looks like Hosseini is about to come on for him.
The other goalkeeper in the squad, in case you're interested, is Amir Abedzadeh, who plays forPonferradina in Spain. Every day's a school day.
FIRST CHANCE FOR ENGLAND
A free kick on the right finds Kane down the wing who whips in a cross but Beiranvand comes out to meet the ball.
Some good work from Bellingham, who found Mount in between the lines, but he loses the ball.
Lots of early possession for England and this game has already fallen into the pattern I think we all imagined it would.
Iran are ready to sit very deep here in a low block, with Taremi up front on his own.
England have got a locksmith job on their hands today.
Corner for England after good work down the left.
Whizzes way over everyone's head.
Harry Maguire shouts for a penalty but the ref is having none of it.
England in a back four, Rice is clearly the pivot with Bellingham and Mount as the two more advanced midfielders.
Southgate's side just keeping calm possession for now, switching from left to right just inside Iran's half.
And we're off!
England take the knee...
Handshakes shaken, coin flipped by the ref, Iran will kick us off from right to left.
England are in white shirts, navy short and white socks today, Iran are all red.
The players are out and lined up - national anthem time!
England's well sung by all, correct lyrics and lovely singing voices from the players.
Iran's was booed by the crowd, not a great reaction...
We've got a mini performance at the ground, full of fire, huge flags and an absolutely huge World Cup trophy.
The players in the tunnel!
You want more stadium photos?
If I'm being picky about the stadium, that's a suspiciously running-track-shaped gap around the pitch, but I'll let it slide.
Is this a potential banana skin for England?
England fans seem quite reserved on their expectations for this tournament, with optimism low compared to previous recent years.
Southgate's style has been criticised given his talented squad and many believe that the golden moment of the cycle has passed.
In terms of England's starting XI for today, perhaps Foden would've been a good choice? He breaks down low blocks for a living.
Anyway, the double-pivot of Bellingham and Rice is certainly a juicy combination.
It will be interesting to see how Carlos Queiroz's Iran try to stifle England's attacking talent and if Taremi can get any clear chances. He has scored a goal per game in the Champions League this season.
I've left the tactical lineups here below, from the top lads at Sofascore.
Tickets issues still ongoing outside the ground
This was the situation 15 minutes ago, and it looks like it's not getting any better. 25 minutes to go.
Kane to wear FIFA armband
His armband for this game will say "No discrimination".
Anyone fancy a drink? No? OK, then.
That would be about £7 or $8... if they were on sale.
Looks like there are problems at the ground
Ticketing issues are being reported by various people now. 40 minutes until kick-off. Let's see how it unfolds...
Who's the ref?
The referee today is 43 year-old Brazilian Raphael Claus, who has been a FIFA-recognised referee since 2015.
Iran starting XI:
Here's how Iran line up:
Beiranvand; Moharrami, Pouraliganji, Hosseini, Mohammedi; Nourollahi, Cheshmi, Hajsafi; Jahanbakhsh, Taremi, Karimi
England starting XI
Here's the England team!
Sterling starts, as does Mount and Saka.
Looks like a back four of Shaw, Maguire, Stones and Trippier.
You want more stadium photos?
Of course you do! It's a beautiful ground, and the pitch looks lovely.
A lovely day at the Khalifa stadium!
You know I said Iran fans outnumbered England 30/1?
Yeah... make that 50/1 now.
Here's what USMNT captain will wear
Tyler Adams, who is taking charge of the USMNT this tournament, will wear the FIFA-approved armband.
Then came the FA statement, backing down to FIFA's demands:
FIFA threatened to impose sporting sanctions on any player who did not participate in their campaign to wear armbands with their own "inclusive" slogans, such as #BringTheMoves. Whatever that means.
In other words, if you don't want toplay my game, I'm taking the ball home.
Today's breaking news: England won't wear the rainbow armband
Head of the FA, Mark Bullingham, had said this on BBC Radio 5 this morning, before the FA released a joint statement along with 6 other nations:
“There are discussions that are carrying on. We are working through those issues right now. It is true to say that Fifa did indicated yesterday that there could be sporting sanctions, that’s obviously something that we have to work through. We have been clear that we want to wear the armband. It is important to us. But equally we need to work through all of the discussions right now and see where we end up. Is it a risk for Kane to wear the armband? That’s what we’re working through right now…
If the sporting sanctions threat is real then we need to look at that, we need to step back and work out if there is another way in which we can show out values.”
Iran making their voices heard
At the moment, Iranian fans currently outnumber England supporters by about 30/1. It's quite the scene at the Khalifa Stadium
England team news
No Maddison for Southgate today as he hasn’t been able to train for the past few days.
He’s also without first-choice right-back Kyle Walker, who has been suffering a long road back to full fitness.
Apart from that, Southgate has all of his players to choose from.
Hello! Welcome to the AS USA live feed of England against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha. It’s Joe here and I’ll be guiding you through all the action today. It’s the first World Cup match of *checks notes* Group B today and I have to say that it’s shaping up to be a cracker.
We've already had some breaking news this morning, which I'll get to.