DOHA: England on Monday thrashed Iran 6-2 in its World Cup Group B opener with teenager Jude Bellingham scoring his first international goal and Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling also on target.
Gareth Southgate’s side strolled to victory, with Iran’s hopeless plight made worse by the early loss of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand to concussion after a clash of heads with a team-mate.
Bellingham headed in a cross from the left by Luke Shaw in the 35th minute to reward England’s domination, Saka found the top corner with a left-foot shot in the 43rd minute and Sterling poked in a third from Harry Kane’s pass two minutes later.
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Iran suffered a torrid first half and had to replace goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand after he sustained a head injury following a collision with teammate Hosseini Majid, resulting in 14 minutes of stoppage time.
Mehdi Taremi’s wonderful goal after 65 minutes gave Iran’s supporters a tremendous thrill, but England’s merciless response saw Saka score his second and replacement Marcus Rashford score on his debut with both goals being composed, slick shots.
After a strong run and pullback by Callum Wilson, Jack Grealish slid home from close range to round off an extraordinarily dominant performance.
Iran did pull another back in injury time when Taremi slotted in a penalty after a John Stones foul.
The only slightly controversial selection in Southgate’s starting lineup was choosing Saka above Phil Foden of Manchester City, but there can be no complaints after a tremendously outstanding performance from the 21-year-old who has been so instrumental in helping Arsenal lead the Premier League.
