England Triumph in Opening World Cup Match

Yesterday, England opened their World Cup 2022 campaign with a clear 6-2 victory against opposition Iran. Gareth Southgate shocked the nation and went with an attacking formation (4-3-3), which set the basis for a positive performance.

This new formation style benefitted England's 19-year-old midfield talent Jude Bellingham. He started alongside Declan Rice in the centre, and to the delight of England he headed in the first goal.

In a pre-match interview with BBC Sport, Bellingham highlighted that he was out to "prove a point" to his Borussia Dortmund teammates. He admitted that most of the German players teased him about England's lack of success compared to theirs. It's apparent that Bellingham is most definitely out to prove a point this tournament.

Bellingham at only 19 years and 145 days, is the second youngest player after Michael Owen, 18 years and 190 days, to score for England in the World Cup. This goal set the momentum of the game and consequently England led 3-0 at halftime, with Bakayo Saka scoring the second in the 43rd minute and Raheem Sterling volleying a 3rd in additional time.

After half-time, Saka further proved why he deserves to consolidate his place in the England starting 11, as he scored a second goal in the 62nd minute. Only 3 minutes later, Iran's striker Mehdi Taremi gave his fans a moment to cheer for as he scored to make it 4-1.

In the 70th minute, Gareth Southgate made a few changes to the starting 11, the most noticeable substitutions were Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish. Within less than a minute of coming on the pitch, substitute Rashford made an immediate impact with a silky finish. To make matters worse for Iran, substitute Grealish also contributed with a 6th goal in the 89th minute. A result of 6-1 would have been a record victory for England in the World Cup. Unfortunately, Iran's number 9, Mehdi Taremi scored a second as a result of a penalty in the 13th minute of additional time.

Nonetheless, with tensions high and a lot of pressure on new players, this was a great victory for England. They will wish to carry this momentum through to their second game of the tournament against the USA on Friday.

AUTHOR

Samuel Gentles