6-2 without One Love – England cruise past Iran in their World Cup opener
A perfect start to the World Cup for England, a damp squid of a start to the World Cup for the neutral.
England cruised to a 6-2 opening game victory against a poor Iran team, in an encounter that had more talking points off the pitch than on.
It was revealed before the game that England captain Harry Kane would not wear the ‘one love’ armband in support of the LGBTQ community, following the threat of a yellow card from match officials and FIFA.
Gianni Infantino must not be feeling as gay as he did in his Friday press conference.
The only England international to wear the armband on the day was Ex-Lioness Alex Scott in the pre-match build up.
The word ‘spineless’ comes to mind.
Taking a stand, only to back down when it actively impacts you, isn’t exactly taking a stand.
Meanwhile, chaos ensued outside the stadium with thousands of frustrated fans unable to access their tickets and unable to gain the required assistance from the ticket help centre – a small tent in a barren desert.
Inside the not-so-full Khalifa International Stadium, the Iranian team refused to sing their national anthem – a strong statement in support of those protesting the Islamic Republic. The Iranian fans in the ground met the anthem with jeers and boos.
On the pitch, FIFA were served an early test after Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was on the end of a nasty head-clash. In typical FIFA fashion, they failed spectacularly.
Beiranvand laid stricken on the grass for close to 10 minutes, before Iranian medical staff inexplicably deemed him fit to continue. Beiranvand, clearly dazed, announced he could not continue a few minutes after the game resumed.
This is yet another embarrassment for IFAB and FIFA on the biggest stage in the sport, showing that concussion protocols are nowhere near stringent enough to protect players.
Jude Bellingham, not that he needed to, stamped his arrival on the World Cup scene with a guided header into the top right corner to open England’s account in the tournament. Luke Shaw’s perfect cross was met by Bellingham, who ran unopposed from the penalty spot to covert.
Saka doubled England’s lead before half time, hammering home Harry Maguire’s knockdown header from a corner. Sterling’s 20th goal for England extended the lead to three, and England were cruising.
Iran’s low block didn’t do much blocking, as Saka danced inside on his left foot to slot home England’s fourth.
Despite England’s onslaught, Iran kept fighting and got their first consolation goal as Mehdi Taremi’s effort clipped the underside of Jordan Pickford’s crossbar.
Iran’s comeback was brief, as Marcus Rashford wasted no time in getting involved in the action. Just 49 seconds after coming off the bench, Rashford slotted past substitute goalkeeper Amir Abedzadeh – the third-quickest goal by a substitute in World Cup History. Jack Grealish rounded off the hammering after the unselfish substitute Callum Wilson’s pass left Grealish an open net to pass into.
The trifecta of gameday FIFA controversies was complete with a questionable award of an Iranian penalty in stoppage time via VAR, which was coolly converted by Taremi for his second.
Harry Maguire was substituted after 70 minutes with an apparent injury, which was the only dampener on what was a near perfect start to the tournament for Gareth Southgate.
Despite Iran’s disappointing showing, it should not undermine England’s performance. The nature of the goals from England’s exciting young core will provide a significant confidence boost to a side that has been struggling in 2022.
England now set their sights on the USA on Friday, in what will no doubt be a significant jump in quality of opposition.
