It was a pleasure to watch England play, a relaxing experience and how often has that been written about them in the heat of a big men’s tournament? It had been billed as a likely war of attrition against Carlos Queiroz and his compact and committed Iran side, but it was nothing of the sort as England eased to a declared victory after grabbing a first-half draw half and squeeze tightly.
It was a feast for the few thousand England fans in attendance, man against boy on the pitch, although it was two of Gareth Southgate’s youngest players who rose to the occasion. Jude Bellingham became the country’s second-youngest goalscorer behind Michael Owen when the rout began, the centerpiece of a performance of power, skill and precision, while Bukayo Saka deserved his two goals, the first a firecracker, as he radiated menace with his every implication.
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What about England’s out-of-form duo? Well, there was a goal for Raheem Sterling and a commanding performance from Harry Maguire, the only disappointment for him was when he was forced off towards the end due to illness.
It was also impossible not to enjoy the moment when Marcus Rashford came off the bench to make it 5-1 within seconds. Rashford’s previous strike in an England shirt had been the penalty miss against Italy in the Euro 2020 final defeat.
Anything is possible, Southgate had said on Sunday, as he tried to consign the dismal Nations League campaign to unwanted history. This was a sign of optimism. There was even the cherry on top of a late sixth from substitute Jack Grealish from a lay-off by another substitute, Callum Wilson.
The off-field tension and disconnections had reverberated to the start with England, and Harry Kane, forced to backtrack on plans to wear the OneLove armband in support of the LGBTQ+ community. What a sorry story, the latest example of Fifa and/or the Qataris flexing their muscles, checkmate and checkmate at the end.
Fans throw their glasses in celebration as England score their first World Cup goal: video
Given the choice between a yellow card or wearing the official FIFA anti-discrimination armband, the Football Association and Kane chose the latter. The message from the FA was that football had to come first. England made sure it was front and centre.
Southgate wanted to drive the lift by getting on the front foot, to get Iran’s 5-4-1 system out of shape with quick movement and interplay, although there would be a pronounced false start, a break in the initial pace When Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand crashed into his own team-mate Majid Hosseini while dealing with Kane’s cross, the impact was jarring, his face bloodied.
It was clear that he would not be able to continue, and yet, after a long treatment, he was helped to his feet. Shortly afterwards he came down again and, this time, he was taken out on a stretcher. It was minute 19. It should have been 10 minutes earlier. The referees would add 14 minutes at the end of the first half.
Marcus Rashford scores moments after coming on as a substitute. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
How England restarts. When the scoreboard went up to show the extraordinary amount of stoppage time, Sterling had just made it 3-0 with a superb finish from Kane’s right-footed cross after a Bellingham run. Iran had been overwhelmed, England winning the duels, often at the top. Bellingham was irrepressible; Animated saka right. The pass was on point.
There was another key aspect to England’s dominance in the first half – Maguire’s on his markers in the corners. He should have had a penalty in the third minute after Rouzbeh Chesmi fouled him to the ground from a Kieran Trippier delivery (it was a mystery how the referee or, more accurately, the VAR didn’t spot it), as he hit a headbutt from another. in the 33rd minute against the crossbar.
Moments earlier, Mason Mount had fired into the side netting from Saka’s cross. The opening goal had been announced, and when it came, it was a beauty from Bellingham, a special moment from a special talent.
Maguire started the move by punching through the lines and when worked wide, Luke Shaw’s cross invited Bellingham to cross for Hosseini. He rose to curl a perfect header into the top, far corner. As an aside, Bellingham’s passing stats in the first half showed 40 attempts and 40 completions, 10 of them in the final third.
Maguire was also involved in the second goal, heading in from another corner, but it was all Saka did after that, put his feet up, take a breath and blast a left-footed blast into the top corner.
It had been impossible to ignore the plight of the Iranian players. Faced with the violence and protests that have engulfed their country following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, they had much more on their minds than football. England knelt earlier, but would Iran’s players sing their national anthem, which is seen as a gesture of support for the regime? To one man, the answer was a stony-faced no.
From Manchester to Doha: Fans celebrate England’s World Cup win against Iran – video
Iran were very motivated but there were times when their aggression was too much; his tackles crossing the line in the face of Southgate’s visible anger. Morteza Pouraliganji caught Kane and England were relieved when the captain regained his feet after treatment. Saka’s second saw him break in down the right, beating one challenge and then another before pulling the trigger – it was too easy – and Rashford’s goal followed a pass from Kane and a dart inside.
In between, Mehdi Taremi tapped home after substitute Ali Gholizadeh had played it in behind Maguire. It was practically Iran’s first chance.
In the end, Jordan Pickford tipped a blast from another substitute, Sardar Azmoun, onto the crossbar and there would be a harsh VAR penalty for Iran when John Stones pulled off Taremi’s shirt. After the first non-award for Maguire, it was puzzling. England had the luxury of Taremi’s conversion unscathed.