Carlos Queiroz believes that England have "the most competitive national team since 1966", and that they will be one of the favourites to win the competition.

Iran come into Monday's clash against England as underdogs, and they realise that England are a "very dangerous" side to face. The Asian side have had a controversial build up to the tournament, with many people calling for the country to be kicked out due to political and social issues within the country.

Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate confirmed that his players will take the knee on Monday, despite Qatar's human rights record. He believes the World Cup is the "biggest" occasion, and the best opportunity to demonstrate their beliefs.

  • Taking a stance

Premier League clubs stopped taking the knee at the start of the current season. Instead, they now do it for the biggest matches. However, Southgate confirmed England would take it against Iran.

He said: "We have discussed taking the knee. We feel we should. It's what we stand for as a team and have done for a long period of time. Of course, we understand in the Premier League that clubs have decided to only do that for certain games, big occasions, we feel this is the biggest. We think it is a strong statement to go around the world for young people in particular to see that inclusivity is very important. I have been asked a lot of political questions from our media over the last six years. In the position I am in, we understand that."

Later on, the former footballer added that he would like to now focus on football: "We are very respectful of our opponents tomorrow, we know the quality of their players and we know under Carlos in the last World Cup they very well organised. We are ready for the game, ready for a strong challenge and we have to be the best version of ourselves."

  • Facing the best team since 1966

Iran's World Cup journey starts with their biggest test in their group. England finished in fourth place in 2018, and lost on penalty in the Euros final in 2021. The European side will be aiming to go one better this winter, and Queiroz believes they have their best side since 1966 to do this.

He said: "This new generation that Gareth Southgate is bringing for the national team in my opinion is probably the most competitive English national team since 1966 that I had the opportunity to see."

"I remember that team very well but this team is very, very functional, very practical, very realistic. I work with the generation of Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, all those guys. But, this national team is really, really different because they make a realistic approach to any single game, which makes them very, very dangerous."

He later added: "We know tomorrow is a very difficult game against England but we are looking to collect the number of points needed to make it to the second round that is our dream. We have that desire in our minds. What can I say about England? One of the top national teams in the world. They are serious candidates to be in the final position, why not a contender to be the world champion? They reached wonderful position in the last World Cup and Euros."

  • Focused on the team

Harry Kane joined Southgate to preview their opening World Cup match. The England captain is just three goals away from breaking the national record for most goals, however the striker insists that he is focused on the team, and not on winning the Golden Boot or breaking the record.

He said: "It would be a great thing to achieve. I was able to do it in 2018, I know if I win it again the team is doing well and we are going pretty far. Most important is giving my best for the team. We are playing against the best players in the world. I try not to think about the Golden Boot, the most important thing is trying to win the World Cup and that is what we are focused on trying to achieve."

However, the Tottenham Hotspur striker believes they must do better than their recent form and not take anything for granted.

He added: "After any result or any stretch of form, we get together as a group of players. We know we could have done better over the last six games.It has made us stronger, more hungry. Gareth has been incredible for us as a group of players, the record speaks for itself. It has been a good period for us and it is another opportunity to take another step forward."

"You can't take anything for granted in football. I was lucky to play in the 2018 World Cup, in football a lot can change. You have to appreciate these moments. A great blend of experience and youth, in life you have to take opportunities that come your way. This is another step, in four years who knows where I will be or where the team will be. It is about now. It will be hard and it will be a big challenge but I’m ready for that challenge."

  • Missing Maddison

The footballing world was delighted to see James Maddison called up to the England squad recently. The midfielder has been in sensational form this season with eleven goal contributions in thirteen matches this season. 

However, the manager confirmed that the playmaker will miss the opening match of the tournament.

The manager said: "In terms of player availability, everyone is available bar James Maddison for tomorrow. I'd say it is a little bit early for Kyle Walker, but he is training with the team, so that's ahead of where we thought he might be at this stage which is a big positive. We're looking forward to this challenge and I really like the way the players have approached training this week.

It's been a good transition for us, because we trained a couple of days earlier due to the heat which we wanted to adapt to. Now, we've had a couple of lighter sessions later at night when it's been cooler."