SM
Man City vs. Club Brugge: 21 hrs 45 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
EN
World Cup | Group Stage
Nov 21, 2022 at 1pm UK
Wembley Stadium
IN

England
6 - 2
Iran

Bellingham (35'), Saka (43', 62'), Sterling (45+1'), Rashford (71'), Grealish (90')
FT(HT: 3-0)
Taremi (65', 90+13' pen.)
Jahanbakhsh (25'), Pouraliganji (48')

England vs. Iran: Who could be the key players in World Cup Group B opener?

:Headline: England vs. Iran: Who could be the key players in World Cup Group B opener?:
Ahead of the World Cup Group B opener between England and Iran, Sports Mole looks at who could be the key player for both sides at the contest.
Sports Mole

After a relatively uninspiring opening game between hosts Qatar and Ecuador, England and Iran will look to put on a more entertaining show as Group B gets underway on Monday.

It is the only group at this winter's tournament which sees all four teams ranked inside the top 20 in the world, but England are still firm favourites to top the group.

However, they traditionally do not start World Cups too well, while Iran have been in far better form than their opponents in the build-up to the tournament.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who could be the key players in the contest at the Khalifa International Stadium.



ENGLAND

STAR MAN - HARRY KANE

With countless individual accolades to his name but no major team trophy to go alongside them, Harry Kane enters the 2022 World Cup wearing the armband for England and looking to further cement his place in Three Lions folklore.

The 29-year-old has netted 51 goals for his country down the years - only Ellen White (52) and Wayne Rooney (53) have more - so replicating his Golden Boot-winning showing of six goals from the 2018 edition would see the Tottenham man become his nation's all-time leading scorer.

It is easy to forget the stellar start Kane has had to the Premier League season given the form of Erling Braut Haaland and Tottenham's recent struggles, but the England captain still has 11 goals from 14 Premier League games so far this term and is growing restless for a major trophy.

Kane has committed himself to Tottenham for the past couple of transfer windows despite widespread interest from elsewhere, and Bayern Munich will seemingly be the next giants to try their luck as they look to fill the Robert Lewandowski-sized void.

However, any talk surrounding Kane's future or possible contract renewal with Tottenham are on hold for the time being, as the prolific forward seeks to engineer a memorable World Cup campaign for the Three Lions.



IRAN

STAR MAN - MEHDI TAREMI

Iran are a team who are focused on keeping clean sheets first and foremost, certainly now that Queiroz has returned to the helm, increasing the burden on their attackers to produce moments of magic to win matches.

While Karim Ansarifard and Sardar Azmoun may have scored more goals for their country than him heading into the World Cup, there is little doubt that Mehdi Taremi is Iran's most in-form attacker and most potent forward at their disposal.

The 30-year-old has bagged 28 goals in only 60 caps for Iran, and has scored 62 times in 114 appearances since joining Portuguese Primeira Liga champions Porto in 2020.

Taremi has proven himself at the highest level by scoring five goals in five Champions League matches already this season, helping the Dragons to top spot in Group B, and Queiroz will be counting on a similarly high level of performance from his main man in Qatar.


body check tags ::

amp_article__500172 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2022-11-21 10:12:39:
html db last update - 2022-11-21 10:12:39 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
World Cup 2022: Reasons for Iran to be confident of beating England at World Cup
"No trust" - Has Oliver refereed last Arsenal game after Lewis-Skelly red overturned?
Which Championship club have won the race to sign Villa starlet Barry?
Can you name every England manager?
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool22165154213353
2Arsenal23138244212347
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
4Manchester CityMan City23125647301741
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle23125641271441
6Chelsea23117545301540
7Bournemouth23117541261540
8Aston Villa2310763435-137
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2381053531434
10Fulham238963431333
11Brentford2394104240231
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd2385102832-429
13Crystal Palace236982630-427
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2376102844-1627
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs2373134637924
16Everton225891928-923
17Leicester CityLeicester2345142549-2417
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2344153252-2016
19Ipswich TownIpswich2337132147-2616
20Southampton2313191653-376
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Amorim to shuffle the pack again? Predicted Man United lineup vs. FCSB

1

AT

Chelsea forward Deivid Washington 'to fulfil dream' as loan agreement reached

2

CF

Bournemouth's Travers on verge of Championship loan move?

NEW

3

BT

Will Van de Ven, Romero return? Predicted Spurs lineup vs. Elfsborg

NEW

4

WV

Preview: FCSB vs. Man Utd - prediction, team news, lineups

5

PF

Team News: Girona vs. Arsenal injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

6

TN

Team News: Barcelona vs. Atalanta injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

7

TN

"No trust" - Has Oliver refereed last Arsenal game after Lewis-Skelly red overturned?

8

&T

'Deal agreed': Man United on verge of completing first January signing

9

'A

Will Bobb make long-awaited return for Man City against Club Brugge?

10

WB


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .