Three Lions Of England Hammered Iran 6-2 In An Emphatic Group B World Cup Opener.

The three Lions of England, cruised to a flying start at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar following an emphatic 6-2 victory against Iran in Group B opener on Monday afternoon.

Thousands of England and Iran supporters were reportedly unable to make it to their seats in time for kick-off at the Khalifa International Stadium. A large number of empty seats were visible as the Group B clash got underway, with FIFA releasing an official statement to confirm that they were ''experiencing a technical issue'' with their official World Cup ticketing app minutes before the game. 

The three Lions had come close to taking the lead in the game, with Harry Maguire heading against the crossbar from Kieran Trippier's corner.

19-year-old Jude Bellingham finally opened the scoring with his first England goal with a header from Luke Shaw's cross in the 35th minute.

England doubled their lead when Maguire climbed highest from a corner to head down for Bukayo Saka to score.

Raheem Sterling finished on the volley following a right-footed cross from Harry Kane in stoppage time, it was the Chelsea forward's first World Cup goal, as Southgate's side establish a comfortable 3-0 lead before half-time.

Arsenal's forward Saka was on fire, as he bamboozled Iran’s defence and made it 4-0 in the 62nd minute. 

With a goal from nowhere, Mehdi Taremi narrowed the gap for Iran three minutes later but Marcus Rashford made it 5-1 and Jack Grealish, also coming off the bench, scored England’s sixth goal. 

Iran were awarded a late penalty after a VAR check for a foul on Morteza Pouraliganji, however, and Taremi slotted home a consolation from the penalty spot to restore some pride for Iran.

England boss Southgate reacted confusedly about penalty decision in the game;

“We are intrigued to know because we had meeting the other day where it was made very clear what would be given as a penalty and we didn’t get one and then had one given against us at the end... He said.

“We will have to speak to find out how that is going to be.”

The victory means that the Three Lions now sits on top of Group B with 3 points from one game, and they are huge favourites to top the group.

Wales and the USA face each other later this evening in what is likely to be a pivotal clash for second place.

It could now finally be "Coming Home" for England who made it to the Euro 2020 final last year but lost in front of their home fans to Italy via penalties.

They also reached the World Cup semifinals in Russia 2018, and now beginning the 2022 World Cup with a massive statement win, makes them truly a side to be wary of going forward in Qatar.

“I’m a bit fed up with the end of it, really! To win by that margin, to play as we did for the majority of the game, we’ve got to be really happy. We looked ready. The players dealt with the game really well.... Southgate said after the game.

“Our press was really good, our movement was really good. I’ve got to be really happy. But we shouldn’t be conceding two goals at that stage of the game.

“We’ll have to be right on our game against the States. It’s a great start, but we’ll have to be better. We lost concentration and when we play at a slower tempo, we’re not anywhere near as effective.

“I’m a miserable so-and-so, I should be more excited! But I have to keep the team on the right track and we will have to be better.”

England’s next match is against the USMNT on Friday evening, before they play their final group-stagematch against Wales a week tomorrow.