England hammered Iran 6-2 in Qatar today to begin their 2022 World Cup campaign with a bang. The Three Lions pulled away in the first half with goals from Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling.
Saka was the star of the show as the Arsenal starlet produced a fine display on the right edge of the attack. He added his second after the break as Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also scored. Iran pulled a goal back in the second half thanks to Mehdi Taremi’s effort and he grabbed a brace by converting a late penalty.
NationalWorld are in Qatar thanks to Rahman Osman’s presence and the football writer has provided his take on proceedings with his player ratings. The gallery below includes game pictures aplenty from the win too.
1. GK - Jordan Pickford, 6
Had barely nothing to do for almost the first half but maintained his sharpness. Could do nothing about the Iranian goal he conceded and showed his frustration after losing his clean sheet
2. RB - Kieran Trippier, 7.2
The Newcastle man was unreal in that he jumped at the chance to bump forward at any given opportunity and was quite capable of adding to the midfield to create an overload, a passing accuracy of 70% says alot about his overall play
3. CB - Harry Maguire, 8
Unlucky not to open the scoring after his towering header cannoned off the post. Won all his aerial dual and completed 80% of his attempted passes. Unlucky to have picked up an injury
4. CB - John Stones, 6
Outstanding is an understatement for his first half performance. Started play with so much ease and just never really looked threatened, only he gave away a late penalty.