England stamp their authority with a convincing win
England got their World Cup campaign off to the best possible start as they trounced Iran 6-2.
Iran were dealt a blow early in the game when their starting goalkeeper, Alireza Beiranvand, collided with defender Majid Hosseini and had to be subbed off in the 20th minute. In the 35th minute, Borussia Dortmund's 19-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham gave the Three Lions the lead with a well-directed header. England netted two more goals before half time with Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling of Chelsea getting on the scoresheet.
Saka added his second strike two minutes after the hour mark to make it 4-0 to England. But the Three Lions could not keep a clean sheet as striker Mehdi Taremi put one past Jordan Pickford in the 65th minute. Substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish made it 5-1 and 6-1 to England respectively before John Stones fouled Taremi inside the box deep into stoppage time. The FC Porto hitman subsequently converted the spot kick and added his second before the full time whistle.
England could not have hoped for a better start to their World Cup campaign and they will be looking to replicate the same against USA in their next game on the 25th of November. Meanwhile, Iran will hope to shake this battering off when they face Wales on the same day.