England kicked off their World Cup campaign in style as they beat Iran in a big way thanks to a couple of goals from Jack Grealish and a couple of others.
The news and features of the World Cup in 2022.
Bellingham opened the scoring with his first England goal in the 35th minute and England went into the half time break with a three goal lead.
The Three Lions opened their Group B campaign with a comfortable victory despite a last-minute penalty from Taremi.
Player ratings, best and worst performers, highlights and notable moments, post match quotes, and key statistics are included in the jump.
A day which began with a row about anti-discrimination One Love armbands as England sought to make a political statement ended with a superb victory as they swept to a superb victory. Three hours before the game, England dropped the gesture because of the threat of a yellow card for captain Harry Kane.
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The row did nothing to affect England's performance, nor did a 10-minute delay as Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand suffered concussion only to try to carry on. There were three goals in 11 minutes and it looked like a walk in the park.
England took a knee before the game to send a message of anti-racism. The Iran players didn't sing their national anthem before the game. While no one from their camp has confirmed the reason, it comes amid more than two months of protests in Iran, sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman while in custody of the country's morality police.
Since last year's run to the Euro 2020 final, the emergence of Jude Bellingham is the biggest development in the England team. On Monday, the 19-year-old became the third- youngest man to start a World Cup match for England, making only his ninth international start.
It went well. He completed all 40 of his attempted passes, 10 of which came in the final third, in a first half in which he scored the opener after 35 minutes. He was the first player born in this century to score. Bellingham was at the center of England's third goal, driving forward and finding Kane, who in turn set up Sterling to finish first time at the near post.
Bellingham's use of the ball gives England's attacking players the kind of service they can thrive from. There is a long way to go but this was a promising start and it caught the attention of the top clubs, including Real Madrid.
When England plays a back three, they are too cautious, but when they play with a back four, they are more aggressive. England's failure to win a tournament prior to his appointment in 2016 is one of the reasons why he prefers the safety of an extra central defender.
This group of players is talented enough to be trusted to play a more expansive style without the inherent caution and the deployment of England in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 shape was the right call. A compact and well-drilled Iranian side, despite being focused on defending until the game was lost, simply could not cope with the depth of attacking talent that the England coach has at his disposal, exemplified by the two replacements who found the net.
The clamour for the handbrake to be taken off will only get louder after this, as there were still a few defensive issues.
Pickford, Trippier, Stones, Shaw, Bellingham, Rice, Mount, Saka, Kane, and sterling are from England.
Subs: Dier, Grealish, Foden, Wilson.
Iran has Beiranvand, Moharrami, Pouraliganji, Cheshmi, Hosseini, Mohammadi, and Jahanbakhsh.
Subs: Gholizadeh, Toradi, and Azmoun.
The best is Jude Bellingham.
Set the tone for a commanding display with the opening goal and it was at the center of England's best play.
It's the worst thing to happen to Hossein Hosseini.
It was difficult to come in after Beiranvand was hit in the head.
When England score goals at the World Cup, there is only one place to go to for the craziest fans. The supporters celebrated Bellingham's opening goal.
GOOOAL! ๐ @England #WorldCup โฝ๏ธ #WC2022 pic.twitter.com/p1BEEwqrZ4
โ BOXPARK CROYDON (@BoxparkCroydon) November 21, 2022
After England scored two more goals in the first half, the revellers barely had time to drink.
3-0 ๐ 2 in quick succession! C'MON ENGLAND!!! ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ #WorldCup #WC2022 pic.twitter.com/GrEuCTUuSS
โ BOXPARK CROYDON (@BoxparkCroydon) November 21, 2022
There will be post match quotes here.
The first player born in this century to score a goal was Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham is the third youngest scorer for England at the World Cup. There were two goals scored by Michael Owen at the 1998 World Cup.
At the age of 21 years and 77 days, the youngest player at the World Cup was England's bukayo sakawa.
It was the first time since 1982 that England had scored three goals in a World Cup opener, and the first time they had scored three goals in the first half.
The last substitute to score for England at a World Cup was Steven Gerrard.
The last Englishman to record two assists in a World Cup match was David Beckham.
The six goals England scored against Iran were the most they have ever scored in a World Cup match.
Only Germany and England have scored six or more goals in the opening match of the World Cup. In 2002, Germany defeated Saudi Arabia in the first match and went on to lose in the finals.
England may feel as though Friday's Group B clash against the United States is a must win after their performance against Iran. It's coming soon enough. The Americans have a better record against the Three Lions than they do, having beaten them in the 1950 World Cup and then drawing at the 2010 tournament. They will play Wales at 2 p.m. on November 29th, the last time they played each other at a tournament. There is an hour and a half later.
Iran will face the Bales on Friday at 5 a.m. The US will take on the Netherlands in a re-enactment of their 1998 World Cup match. On November 29th.
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