England have got their 2022 World Cup campaign off to an emphatic start by hammering Iran 6-2 at the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar this afternoon.
Gareth Southgate's side equalled their highest-scoring game at a World Cup with a clinical and incisive performance which ruthlessly put a poor Iran side to the sword.
Nineteen-year-old Jude Bellingham opened the scoring for the Three Lions before two goals from Bukayo Saka either side of Raheem Sterling's first World Cup goal put England in complete control of the contest.
Marcus Rashford joined the party 49 seconds after coming on as a substitute before Jack Grealish tapped home a sixth in the final minute of normal time to complete the record-equalling rout.
Mehdi Taremi did pull a couple back for Carlos Queiroz's side, who had kept 14 clean sheets in their previous 20 outings before today, firing home to make it 4-1 before denying England their joint-biggest ever World Cup win with a last-gasp penalty.
In a match which saw 14 minutes of added time at the end of the first half and a further 13 played at the end of the second, England looked assured and dangerous going forward to send out an early statement to their Group B rivals.
The win is England's biggest-ever in the opening match of a major tournament, while their six-goal haul equals the record they set against Panama four years ago in Russia.
HIGHLIGHTS
3rd min: England want a penalty as both John Stones and Harry Maguire go down under close attention from their markers from a corner, but both the referee and VAR are unmoved.
30th min: Some good link-up play between Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling leads to the former putting a low pass into the box from the right channel, and Mason Mount meets it but can only pick out the side-netting at the near post.
32nd min: The much-maligned Harry Maguire almost provides the perfect response to his critics as he meets a Kieran Trippier corner with a brilliant header which comes back off the crossbar.
35th min: England open their World Cup account, and it is the 19-year-old Jude Bellingham who gets the goal as he meets Luke Shaw's cross with a looping header into the far corner.
43rd min: England double their advantage as a deep Trippier corner is nodded down by Maguire to Saka, who fires a fine half-volley in off the underside of the crossbar.
45+1 min: Two becomes three in double-quick time as Bellingham drives forward before finding Harry Kane, who in turn works a yard to fire a cross into the box for Sterling to apply a first-time finish with the outside of his boot - his first World Cup goal.
45+11 min: A first half-chance for Iran as a floated cross from the left finds Alireza Jahanbakhsh with the freedom of the England area, but he chooses to take it first time and fires a volley well over.
62nd min: England have their fourth and Saka has his second as he collects the ball from Sterling before advancing into the area, cutting inside and biding his time, eventually just stroking his finish into the bottom corner.
65th min: Iran quickly pull one goal back as the ball is slipped through to Mehdi Taremi, who has stolen in behind Maguire and lashes a first-time finish into the roof of the net.
72nd min: Just seconds after coming on, Marcus Rashford makes it five for England, collecting Kane's pass before gliding past his marker with ease and slotting his finish past the keeper for his first goal at a major international tournament.
90th min: Callum Wilson must be dreaming of a first World Cup goal on his first World Cup appearance, but he is incredibly unselfish when bearing down on goal as he instead squares it to Jack Grealish for a simple finish.
90+8 min: Sardar Azmoun finds himself through on goal and he really should pull another back for Iran, but he crashes his effort against the crossbar via a brilliant fingertip save from Jordan Pickford.
90+10 min: A cross into the box is punched away by Pickford, but play stops for a VAR check against a possible shirt tug from Stones. The referee goes over to the monitor and decides to award the stop kick, despite a similar incident going unpunished in the first half.
90+12 min: Taremi takes his time over the penalty, but eventually converts coolly as he slots home from 12 yards.
MAN OF THE MATCH - JUDE BELLINGHAM
At just 19 years old, Jude Bellingham looked like the most assured and confident player on the pitch today as he produced another landmark performance in a prodigious career.
Bukayo Saka of course deserves huge credit for his two goals and would have been a worthy recipient of this award, while there was not an England player who had a bad game in truth, but Bellingham underlined exactly why he is now one of the first names on the teamsheet despite his tender years.
It was his fine looping header which broke the deadlock as he became the second-youngest England player to score at the World Cup, and aside from that he always looked capable of making something happen when he got on the ball, dictating play in incredibly classy fashion as England cruised to the victory.
STANDOUT MOMENT
A mention should go to the Iran players refusing to sing the national anthem before kickoff in an apparent show of solidarity with the protests at home - a powerful message echoed by the Iranian fans inside the stadium.
In terms of events within the match, though, Saka's first goal was a particularly welcome moment given the disgraceful abuse he suffered after missing the decisive penalty against Italy in the Euro 2020 final last year.
There was no shortage of enjoyable moments from an England perspective - and Bellingham's opener also deserves a mention - but there will have been few more popular goalscorers than Saka, who went on to help himself to a second for good measure too.
BEST STATS
MATCH STATS
Possession: England 78%-22% Iran
Shots: England 13-8 Iran
Shots on target: England 7-3 Iran
Corners: England 8-0 Iran
Fouls: England 9-14 Iran
LINEUPS
ENGLAND (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire (Dier 71'), Shaw; Bellingham, Rice; Saka (Rashford 71'), Mount (Foden 71'), Sterling (Grealish 71'); Kane (Wilson 76')
IRAN (5-4-1): Beiranvand (Hosseini 19'); Moharrami, Pouraliganji, Cheshmi (Kanani 46'), Hosseini, Mohammadi (Torabi 63'); Jahanbakhsh (Gholizadeh 46'), Noorollahi (Azmoun 77'), Karimi (Ezatolahi 46'), Hajisafi; Taremi
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