England 6-2 Iran: 5 hits and flops ft. Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham | 2022 FIFA World Cup
England ran riot at the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday (21 November) as they began their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in style with a 6-2 defeat of Iran.
Goals from Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish put the Three Lions in complete control of the Group B contest, while Mehdi Taremi scored a consolation brace for Iran.
Gareth Southgate's men dominated the early proceedings and broke the deadlock in the 34th minute when Luke Shaw's pinpoint cross was headed home by Bellingham. The Three Lions doubled their lead less than 10 minutes later when Harry Maguire headed down a cross for Saka to half-volley off the bar and into the top corner.
England had a third in the closing minutes of the half when Bellingham found Kane on the counter-attack, whose pass was converted with the outside of his foot by Raheem Sterling.
Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka added a second after the break when he evaded multiple challenges, cut inside, and made it 5-0. Marcus Rashford, on as a substitute, cut past a defender in the box and scored past the goalkeeper with his left foot.
Taremi scored twice, once from open play and once from the penalty spot, to give the Iran supporters something to cheer about.
On that note, here are five hits and flops from a rather one-sided game in Qatar:
#5. Hit - Raheem Sterling | England
This was Sterling's best performance in an England shirt since Euro 2020. He was a livewire down the left flank, linked up well with Luke Shaw and Harry Kane, and looked unstoppable on a couple of attacks. He scored his first World Cup goal at the third time of asking, and picked up an assist too.
Sterling's 20th goal for his country, scored in an emphatic manner, will give him some much-needed confidence boost after a mixed start to his Chelsea career this season. Southgate has little to worry about his team's attack as it looks fluid and capable of breaking apart any opposition on its day.
Raheem Sterling has now scored as many goals for England (20) as Jermaine Defoe. He’s now scored more England goals than:
RAHEEM STERLING - (20)
David Beckham - (17)
Paul Scholes - (14)
Good company to be in. 🌟 https://t.co/oCYfNRNloh
#4. Hit - Harry Kane | England
Across the leagues in Europe and beyond, there surely isn't another striker like Harry Kane. He can score goals, as we have seen him do so for Tottenham Hotspur and England over the years. However, his creativity is off the charts for a player who is supposed to be leading the line.
The Englishman expertly drops back to get involved in the buildup and rarely makes the wrong pass when looking to take his team forward. He has as many assists against Iran (2) as Cristiano Ronaldo has in 17 World Cup appearances.
Kane's importance to the team was highlighted when he went down holding his ankle at the start of the second half as Gareth Southgate and English supporters everywhere will have been praying for the best.
If Olivier Giroud can win France the coveted World Cup title without scoring a goal, Kane can do the same for England — albeit in a much different manner.
#3. Flop - Alireza Jahanbakhsh | Iran
Jahanbakhsh's creativity has worked in Iran's favor several times over the years. However, on Monday, England made sure he couldn't work his magic on the pitch. The midfielder was starved of possession and found himself tracking back a lot more than he would have liked to. This led to a frustrating challenge on Luke Shaw that saw him pick up a yellow card.
The 29-year-old did not have the chance to bounce back in the second half as manager Carlos Queiroz, having seen enough of a disappointing performance, substituted him at half time.
#2. Hit - Bukayo Saka | England
Saka was one of England’s best players in the match. He was nearly unplayable in the first half and scored his side's second goal with a stunning finish before adding another in the second half. 82% pass accuracy from 48 touches and two goals from three shots on target barely tells the full story. He was active in attack as he was when tracking back.
To put the youngster's performance in perspective, the Arsenal winger has now scored as many goals (2) in the World Cup as Wayne Rooney (1) and Paul Scholes (1) combined. This was quite a turnaround for a player who, not too long ago, faced racial abuse from his own supporters following his crucial penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final.
What A Feeling 🤩 https://t.co/uHJmdWlSF4
#1. Hit - Jude Bellingham | England
Bellingham ran the show for England in their opening group-stage match. He started the match alongside Declan Rice in the double pivot but was soon let to roam free with Rice slotting in as the sole holding midfielder.
The country's third-youngest World Cup starter ever barely put a step wrong throughout the game. He registered a 100% tackle success rate, completed all of his take-ons, had a 97% pass accuracy from 95 passes, and won possession nine times (most in the match).
Jude Bellingham is the 3rd youngest England player ever to start at a World Cup, behind Michael Owen and Luke Shaw 👶🌟 https://t.co/ZCXDSs4zBT
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder, the only non-Premier League player in the English squad, broke the deadlock in the first half to give Gareth Southgate's men the cushion to build on.
In doing so, Bellingham became England's second-youngest goalscorer at a World Cup, after Michael Owen, and the country's third-youngest World Cup starter of all time.