England crush Iran 6-2 in World Cup opener; Netherland vs Senegal coming up

Jude Bellingham scored first, heading home from a cross from Luke Shaw, before Bukayo Saka hit home off a corner. Then just minutes later Raheem Sterling scored a volley, putting England three goals up before half time.

Hyderabad: After the host Qatar's embarrassing defeat in the FIFA World Cup opener on Sunday, the second game between England and Iran today saw the English beginning their campaign with a storming start as the side crush Iran 6-2. Bellingham, Saka, Grealish, Sterling, and Rashford were the stars for England. Senegal vs Netherlands Group A match will take place shortly at Qatar's Al Thumama Stadium.

Iran and England are in Group B, deemed the toughest group with an average world ranking of 15 and a spread of just 15 places. However, in the wake of the recent protests back in Iran against the custodial death of a Kurdish woman after her detention by morality police over dress code, the match gained significance.

England looked in complete control, enjoying almost all of the possession, playing freely - with Iran hardly having a touch in the opposing half and with almost no shots on goal.

In the run-up to the game that began at 6:30 pm IST at the Khalifa International Stadium Doha, Iranian players Karim Ansarifard and Morteza Pouraliganji refused to answer questions about the protests back home. Captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh, however, accused the English media of playing mind games.

This has upped the excitement level for the game all the more. Amid other things, football also has been impacted by the protests, chaos and violence in Iran. Amid this turmoil, the Iranian national team has travelling to Qatar to participate in the World Cup. Interestingly, Iran would kickstart its World Cup journey facing its fiercest two geo-political rivals, England and the US.

While the team is trying to focus on the game, the weeks-long Iran protests against 22-yr-old Mahsa Amini which rocked the Islamic republic have already made their presence felt in Iran's national football team. Iranian football legend Ali Karimi voiced his support for Iranian women on social media. Star player Sardar Azmoun, too put out a series of social posts in support.

Azmoun minced no words saying that he doesn’t fear the risk of being targeted by the authorities as “that is worth sacrificing for one strand of Iranian women’s hair”. Ahead of today's game, Iranian defender Defender Ehsan Hajsafi voiced his support for the protesters. Meanwhile, England took the knee at the opener.

Quoting manager Gareth Southgate, the reports said England made the gesture against racism and inequality in 33 consecutive games after football resumed after the COVID-19 lockdown. "We have discussed taking a 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," Southgate said. "We think it is a strong statement to go around the world for young people, in particular, to see that inclusivity is very important," he added. On Sunday, hosts Qatar lost to Equador 2-1 in the opening game.

Following were the teams for the World Cup Group B match between England and Iran today

Iran:Alireza Beiranvand, Sadegh Moharrami, Ehsan Hajsafi, Milad Mohammadi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Morteza Pouraliganji, Mehdi Taremi, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Ali Karimi, Majid Hosseini, Ahmad Nourollahi.

England:Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling