England hammered six goals past Iran in their FIFA World Cup 2022 group B opener on Monday to bring up a statement 6-2 win over the Asian giants. The Three Lions were favourites to win the clash, but few could have predicted the outcome would be such a one-sided scoreline as Gareth Southgate's men had too much in the tank.
Jude Bellingham opened the scoring for England in the 35th minute, followed by a brace from Bukayo Saka while Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish all got their names on the scoresheet. For Iran, Mehdi Taremi scored a brace to give the Iranian supporters something to cheer about.
Rashford and Saka had both missed crucial penalties at Euro 2022 for England as the Three Lions lost the final of the European Championships last year, and they had to face racial abuse from many fans. The two youngsters scored against Iran, in the first major international match since that final.
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The win helped the Three Lions go top of Group B, albeit temporarily, with USA and Wales in action later in the day.
It was Bellingham, the 19-year-old who kick-started the goal fest with a sublime glancing header shortly after the half-hour mark, after being found expertly by Luke Shaw following good build-up play.
More to follow..
