Gareth Southgate sent out a positive, attack-minded team for England’s World Cup opener against Iran and reaped the rewards. After a ragged opening, featuring a 10-minute stoppage, England found their rhythm, raced to a three-goal half-time lead and kickstarted their tournament by winning their first match in six attempts.

England looked at ease in their 4-2-3-1 shape as they controlled the game and picked off Iran with Southgate’s lineup picks paying dividends. Jude Bellingham looked to the manor born alongside Declan Rice in central midfield and opened the scoring by netting his first England goal in his 18th appearance for the national team. Nothing can stop the 19-year-old.

Little can stop Bukayo Saka either. He scored twice and the sight of the Arsenal winger scoring a brace in his first World Cup appearance was hugely welcomed after he missed the decisive penalty in England’s Euro 2020 final shoot-out defeat to Italy and subsequently suffered horrific racial abuse.

Also, Raheem Sterling, backed again by Southgate despite recent underwhelming performances for Chelsea, added to the scoreline as England ran riot. Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish both came off the bench to ensure England scored six in a second successive World Cup.

Bellingham and Saka were instrumental in England's thrashing of Iran (Getty)

This was England brimming with confidence and the shackles off. Southgate must stick to this front-footed game-plan even when the quality of the opposition rises. The manager’s pragmatism can combine with attacking verve.

Story of the game

Controversy lingers around this World Cup like a bad smell. And a bad taste was left in the mouth as the Football Association and five other European FAs backed down from allowing their captains from wearing the “OneLove” armband as a statement against human rights concerns in Qatar.

This came after Fifa threatened “sporting sanctions”, including bookings, should any of the captains deviate from wearing the Fifa-issued armbands for the tournament. It is believed that financial sanctions would have been tolerated by the FA but in a statement they said: “We can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions”.

Such a talking point on the morning of England’s opening game will have done little to settle Southgate and his players. The last time England kicked a ball in a World Cup, four years ago, they exited the semi-finals in extra-time against Croatia.

The prospect of facing the third-strongest team in Group B was caveated by it being England’s opening match. Tougher assignments will likely come against the US and Wales, and Southgate chose to line his team up in a front-footed 4-2-3-1 formation.

Saka struck a shot in off the crossbar to double England's lead (Getty)

Southgate remained loyal to Harry Maguire, who has only started five games for Manchester United this term, as he partnered the 29-year-old in central defence with John Stones,, and the centre-back played well before exiting midway through the second-half due to concussion.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of England’s starting XI was the inclusion of Mason Mount ahead of Phil Foden. Though it is true that Foden has yet to fully show his undoubted talents for the national team and Mount is a Southgate favourite.

Iran’s star Sardar Azmoun, who hasn’t played since injuring his calf at the start of last month, started on the bench with Mehdi Taremi, scorer of 13 goals for Porto this season, leading the line and going on to score two late consolation goals. 

Before kick-off, the Iranian players chose not to sing the national anthem given the deaths and arrests in the struggle for gender equality in their homeland. Whistles rang around the stadium too. England players took the knee in a statement against racism having made the gesture at the European Championships last year.

England players took the knee before kick-off but Kane was prevented from wearing a 'OneLove' armband (Getty)

When the action got underway, it was a disrupted opening quarter-hour. England should have been awarded a penalty in the fourth minute when Maguire was hauled down by Roozbeh Cheshmi from a Kieran Trippier corner but both the on-field and off-field officials didn’t raise concern despite Fifa saying they would crackdown on such penalty area pulling ahead of the tournament.

The game paused for almost 10 minutes soon after when Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand clashed heads with his own centre-back Majid Hosseini after preventing Harry Kane’s delivery from reaching Sterling. Beiranvand received lengthy treatment from the medics but clearly looked dazed and should have been removed from the action but was crazily allowed to continue only to be stretched off less than 60 seconds later. The episode was disappointingly negligent at best.

Play finally resumed with Iran snapping into tackles and testing the resolve of the Brazilian referee, Raphael Claus, who had issued five red cards in a Rio de Janeiro derby earlier this year. It was then that England were allowed to start finding their rhythm with the lively Saka teeing up Mount who struck the side-netting and then Maguire heading a Trippier corner against the crossbar. The goals duly arrived.

England’s opener originated from Maguire cutting open the Iranian defence with a pass to Mount in the inside left channel. The Chelsea attacker passed the ball onto Sterling and he sent it out wide to Shaw on the left. An out-swinging cross was met by a rising Bellingham who sent a looping header over substitute ‘keeper Seyed Hossein Hosseini and into the top right corner.

Bellingham headed past Hossein Hosseini to score his first England goal (Getty)

From there, England moved through the gears. Eight minutes after the breakthrough Shaw aimed a corner-kick to Maguire at the far side of the penalty area and the defender headed down for Saka, who swiped a fine left-footed shot in off the underside of the crossbar.

It was in the first of fourteen minutes added on at the end of the first half that England scored a third. It came from a Jordan Pickford clearance and Bellingham was alert to the second ball, driving forward and quickly finding Kane. England’s captain crossed for Sterling, who dispatched an airborne finish from the edge of the six-yard box.

Southgate’s side continued to maintain the upper-hand after the interval. An hour had been played when Sterling rode numerous bumps from the Iran defence before passing to Saka. He did the rest, cutting in from the right and bending a shot into the bottom corner.

Saka netted a brace as England ran riot (Getty)

Iran scored from their first attempt on target when the ball was worked in from the left touchline, Taremi ran off Maguire and thundered a shot beyond Pickford. Southgate wrung the changes, all of which were attacking bar Eric Dier replacing the concussed Maguire who had put in a shift.

Rashford picked up from where Saka left off and netted his first goal at a major tournament by displaying good close control when chopping inside Hosseini and finishing low past Hossein Hosseini. Then Bellingham released Callum Wilson, another substitute, who unselfishly squared for Grealish to tap home.

Not even a stoppage-time penalty for Iran, awarded after Stones pulled at Taremi's shirt, and converted by the Iranian forward could dampen England's evening. This was some start by them.

Player of the match: Bukayo Saka

The Arsenal attacker scored a brace on his World Cup debut and no one could deny the 21-year-old this game to remember. Saka was on the end of horrible racial abuse after missing a penalty in England’s Euro 2020 final shoot-out defeat to Italy last summer, but nothing can keep this impressive player down.

Bringing his fine form for Arsenal into the England team was why Southgate started with Saka against Iran. He repaid the manager’s faith with a lively display and both of his finishes were accurate and assured.

Bellingham was England’s other stand-out performer. The 19-year-old scored his first senior international goal to get England’s tournament up and running and was full of energy as he covered al bases in midfield.

Maguire also rewarded Southgate’s loyalty with a good showing. The centre-back, who has only started five games for United this term, was turned rather easily for Iran’s goal and wasn’t thoroughly tested at the back. But he did set England’s first goal in motion and also assisted Saka with his first.

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