The English easily won 6-2 against overwhelmed Iranians on Monday in Qatar.
Iran
With a double from Bukayo Saka (21) and a goal from Jude Bellingham (19), the young generation offered England a thunderous and exciting entry into the 2022 World Cup by crushing Iran (6-2) Monday in Doha.
Resplendent since the start of the season with Dortmund, Bellingham could well be one of the revelations of the competition. He is probably the real relay midfielder that this English team lacked, which so often struggled to find a binder between its defensive and attacking blocks.
Bellingham Perfect Match
He had already been one of the few, if not the only, English satisfied during the last calamitous League of Nations, and he completely made people forget the absence of Kalvin Philipps who had however been so precious during the Euro-2020.
Announced as a prodigy since his adolescence, this tireless “scraper” of balls never hesitates to project himself forward into the opposing area with a real talent for finishing, as shown by his 4 goals in the Champions League with Dortmund.
England
In the 35th minute, he found himself at the right time to take over with a perfectly balanced uncrossed header a center from Luke Shaw to open the scoring.
It was then Bukayo Saka, barely older, with his 21 years, who distinguished himself. The latter even went there with a double.
He first catapulted under the bar a deflection of the head of Harry Maguire (2-0, 43rd),
before killing almost all suspense on returning from the locker room by having fun with the opposing defense, it is true, easily routed (4-0, 62nd).
Meanwhile, Sterling (80 caps), who had not scored at the World Cup in Russia, opened his counter in his first match in this edition, taking over a center from Harry Kane (45 + 1, 3-0 ).
Never have England had two goalscorers aged 21 or under in a match in a major competition and it confirms that Gareth Southgate was right to trust these young talents for this first game.
In the second half, the incoming Marcus Rashford, launched by Kane (72nd, 5-1),
then Jack Grealish ((90th, 6-1) also scored.
Iran saved the honor thanks to a double from Taremi, already very good with Porto at the start of the season and the author of a goal in the 65th, then a penalty at the very end of added time.
Saka’s Revenge
England
For Saka, this double for his first match on the world stage also has a little taste of revenge, after having missed a shot on goal during the lost final of Euro-2020 against Italy, which had earned him many insulting and sometimes racist messages on social networks.
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