England today thrashed Iran 6-2 to get their World Cup Group B campaign up and running in an emphatic fashion.
Gareth Southgate’s decision to start Saka ahead of Manchester City’s Phil Foden was vindicated, while his decision to stick with stalwarts Harry Maguire and Raheem Sterling despite their poor club form also paid dividends.
Sterling made it 3-0 at halftime after Jude Bellingham headed his maiden international goal and Saka shot a goal into the top corner from Maguire’s knockdown.
Mehdi Taremi got Iran on the scoresheet midway through the second half and netted a penalty deep into stoppage time, but that was scant consolation as further strikes from Saka and substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish once again demonstrated the taste Southgate’s England have for tournament football.
lineups
England XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Bellingham, Rice; Saka, Mount, Sterling; Kane
Iran XI (5-3-2): Beiranvand; Moharammi, Hosseini, Pouraliganji, Cheshmi, Mohammadi; Hajsafi, Karimi, Nourollahi; Taremi, Jahanbaksh.
