England 6 Iran 2 as it happened: Saka scores twice in dominant English performance

FULL-TIME: ENGLAND 6 IRAN 2

What a performance by England. Fluid, slick football and memorable performances from young stars playing their first World Cup games - Jude Bellingham (19) and Buyako Saka (21). It’s rare to see England out of the blocks this confidently and will increase belief.

The question is will we see this fluidity from England in the bigger games later in the tournament. Southgate has shown what is possible when England’s attacking quality is unleashed, but the performances of Harry Maguire and Eric Dier at the back will be under increased scrutiny. For now, a cause for celebration before their next game against USA on Friday.

100 mins: GOAL FOR IRAN. Into the 200th minute of football today. A VAR check for a push by John Stones in the box. It’s given. Taremi converts the penalty to his right. Well taken and another consolation for Iran.

England 6 Iran 2

98 mins: Off the post. Azmoun is through on goal but the ball hits the crossbar. A shame as the Iranians miss out on another consolation goal on what has been a nightmare day. A good cross into the box by Iran is anxiously punched away by Pickford.

England 6 Iran 1

88 mins: GOAL FOR ENGLAND. That’s six! Grealish with a tap-in after unselfish play by Callum Wilson. Again Bellingham breaking the lines with a brilliant pass. Easy, easy.

England 6 Iran 1

84 mins: Foden knocks it wide to Rashford who twinkle toes it around two Iran defenders before he’s blocked. Brilliant skill. Foden’s shot is blocked out for a corner. England enjoying themselves.

England 5 Iran 1

77 mins: I predicted a tough, tight opening game for England today. Nothing of the sort. They have outclassed England in all aspects of their game. Kane comes off for Callum Wilson. No goals today but outstanding hold-up play from the Spurs striker. A very confident start by the Three Lions. Taremi gets the run on Eric Dier but Taremi blasts it wide for Iran.

England 5 Iran 1

71 mins: GOAL FOR ENGLAND. Kane wins the ball and Rashford scores immediately! Terrible defending again by Iran but slick football by England. The Manchester United forward dummies the defender completely and then sticks it past the keeper with his left. No boring football by Southgate’s England this tournament by this evidence.

England 5 Iran 1

70 mins: Plenty of goals in this one then. Flurry of England changes - Dier, Grealish, Foden, Rashford all on the pitch.

England 4 Iran 1

65 mins: GOAL FOR IRAN. Out of nowhere a superb Iran goal! Maguire loses Taremi after a clever ball into the box and he smashes it past Pickford in off the crossbar. A nice note to a tough day for Iran.

England 4 Iran 1

61 mins: GOAL FOR ENGLAND. Iran more up for it this half but haven’t created a chance of note. Sterling plays through midfield and is fouled but Iran stand off Saka in the box, he unbalances the defenders with his close control and he scores after a slight deflection. Poor by Iran, great day for Saka with his second goal.

England 4 Iran 0

54 mins: Another great run by Bellingham, this time down the sideline. Cut out by the defender. Nothing happens from the corner but England well in control. Kane and Sterling combine nicely but Hosseini covers.

England 3 Iran 0

51 mins: Free kick for England. Kane is back on. Trippier takes it but straight against the wall. Now Trippier is down after another bad tackle.

England 3 Iran 0

47 mins: Taremi blocks down Pickford right from the off, Iran putting more pressure on England in this half at least. Sterling makes a nice turn and gives to Kane who runs at the defence and is chopped down from behind cynically by Pouraliganji. Kane down holding his ankle, will be a worry for England.

England 3 Iran 0

HALF TIME: ENGLAND 3 IRAN 0

Perfect start for Gareth Southgate and England. Three good goals and an abundance of good play against a disappointing Iran side. The 19-year-old Jude Bellingham stood out in his first World Cup game, scoring the game’s opener with a great head and was a menace throughout. Trippier and Saka also caused havoc down the right flank. This one is all but over already, you would think.

45 mins + 9: Too easy for England at the moment. Lack of fight by Iran? Have tensions back home had an effect on their team spirit? Their first shot of the game comes from a counter attack. A cross into the box is played to Jahanbakhsh, who blasts it over.

England 3 Iran 0

45 mins + 4: A massive 14 minutes of stoppage time because of the injury to the Iran keeper. England will fancy another here before half-time. Iran are struggling.

England 3 Iran 0

45 mins: GOAL FOR ENGLAND. Brilliant run by the marauding Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane with a lovely ball into the box and Sterling volleys it in. Iran all over the place. Perfect start by England.

England 3 Iran 0

43 mins: GOAL FOR ENGLAND. Saka with a fantastic strike into the top corner after Maguire knocked down Shaw’s corner into the box. Iran players protesting Maguire’s challenge for the ball but doesn’t seem anything in it. Brilliant goal.

England 2 Iran 0

40 mins: Well deserved lead for England, who have upped their level in the past 10 minutes. Trippier having a big impact from right back.

England 1 Iran 0

35 mins: GOAL FOR ENGLAND. Good play by England in midfield and they release Shaw on the left. A pinpoint cross by Shaw to Jude Bellingham, who sneaks into the box and scores a superb header into the corner. What a moment for the 19-year-old.

England 1 Iran 0

33 mins: Off the bar. Nice skill by Sterling, nutmegging the defender wins a corner for England. From the corner, Harry Maguire’s thumping header rattles off the crossbar. So close!

England 0 Iran 0

30 mins: England’s best chance of the match as Trippier and Saka combine on the right. Trippier plays to Sterling who gives back to Saka on the wing. A clever run by Mount makes space but he hits the side netting.

England 0 Iran 0

28 mins: Not a great start by England, who haven’t created a great chance, although the game was considerably delayed by Beiranvand’s injury. Iran will be satisfied by the stop-start nature so far. Sake gets the ball on the edge of the box but his shot is straight at the keeper.

England 0 Iran 0

23 mins: Free kick in a dangerous area for Iran. Jahanbakhsh’s ball in is easily dealt with though. Notice that the RTÉ three-word short name for Iran was made sure to be IRN this time, rather than the other one...

England 0 Iran 0

17 mins: Beiranvand surprisingly continues on despite looking concussed. But a minute later he falls down again. The stretcher comes out, substitute keeper Hosseini comes on. There will be several minutes of stoppage time to come.

England 0 Iran 0

10 mins: A nasty clash between the Iran goalkeeper Beiranvand and team-mate Majid Hosseini leaves him knocked out on the ground needing medical attention. Hopefully he is alright. A long break in the game.

England 0 Iran

7 mins: England dominate possession as Iran sit back unsurprisingly. Kane puts in a dangerous ball from the right but it misses everyone and Maguire can’t swing it around at the far post.

England 0 Iran 0

2 mins: England spray the ball around in the opening minutes. They get an early corner but Trippier’s corner is overhit. Maguire claims a penalty for a push but the referee waves it away.

England 0 Iran

England head coach Gareth Southgate said nothing was impossible for his side and urged the players to embrace the excitement of a World Cup on the eve of the game.

[ England vs Iran: Southgate strikes positive note ahead of Group B opener ]

The big news this morning was that England, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Wales will not wear an anti-discrimination armband in their World Cup matches on Monday after Fifa threatened them with sporting sanctions. A joint statement from seven European nations who had signed up to the One Love campaign confirmed the armbands will no longer be worn. A disappointing climbdown.

[ World Cup: European nations scrap One Love armbands plan due to fear of Fifa sanctions ]

Hello and welcome to live coverage of England’s opening game of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium. Will England get their campaign off to a winning start against Carlos Quieroz’s Iran, who are sure to make things difficult. Set up in a 5-3-2 formation, they will look to frustrate the Three Lions. Gareth Southgate has seemingly ditched the five at the back for an attacking 4-3-3 with Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham with Declan Rice.

Teams

England: Jordan Pickford; Kieran Trippier, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Luke Shaw; Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount; Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling.

Iran: Alireza Beiranvand; Sadegh Moharrami. Morteza Pouraliganji, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi; Ali Karimi, Ahmad Nourollahi, Ehsan Hajsafi; Mehdi Taremi Alireza Jahanbakhsh.