With lofty expectations, England opens Group B play against Iran
Published
With the weight of their nation’s expectations firmly on their shoulders, England opens Group B play at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a game against Iran at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
Coverage begins with TSN at the World Cup, Monday at 7am ET/4am PT across the TSN Network, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
It has been 56 years since England’s only World Cup triumph, when they captured the 1966 tournament on home soil.
They will not only have to overcome decades of disappointment, but a recent run of bad form if they are going to find success in Qatar.
England are winless in their last six contests as they were relegated in UEFA Nations League, most recently earning a 3-3 draw against Germany that snapped a three-match scoreless drought.
During that stretch they suffered two losses to Hungary, had a loss and a draw against Italy and an additional draw with Germany.
Head coach Gareth Southgate believes his team is ready for the competition.
“For every player and every manager it's the pinnacle of world football so we're really looking forward to testing ourselves on that stage," Southgate told BBC.com.
You can watch every game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup LIVE on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
While recent returns have not been encouraging, England has fared well at the last two major competitions.
They advanced to the final of the pandemic-delayed EURO 2020 tournament last year, before dropping the final at Wembley Stadium in London on penalties to Italy.
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, England was eliminated at the semifinal stage by Croatia.
Captain Harry Kane says the team wants to better their 2018 result, but aren’t getting ahead of themselves.
"We're trying not to think that far ahead but of course that's the dream and what we're aiming to do," said Kane. "It's going to be a tough tournament, we have to prepare for that, but really excited to get going."
Iran is playing in their sixth Men’s FIFA World Cup and third in a row since they returned to the tournament at the 2014 competition in Brazil.
The top-ranked Asian Football Confederation team at the World Cup, Iran has never advanced beyond the group stage and have only collected two wins, defeating the United States in 1998 and Morocco in 2018.
Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz says that despite past failures, the team’s goal remains reaching the knockout stages of the tournament.
“We want to move forward, be better, and for sure we have our expectations to reach the second stage of the World Cup,” Queiroz told ESPN.com in September. “Nothing has changed. We go for our third World Cup together with the same belief and the same ambition to be there.”
Iran dropped a behind-closed doors friendly to Tunisia in their final warm-up ahead of the tournament.
They were unbeaten in their last three matches before that, with a draw against Senegal sandwiched by victories over Uruguay and Nicaragua.
England boasts a lineup of international stars led by Kane, who has 51 goals, behind only Wayne Rooney’s 53 on the all-time list for the country.
Iran’s leading international scorer Sardar Azmoun has 41 goals and was named to the team despite suffering a calf injury in October.
England and Iran have never met in international football.
ENGLAND POTENTIAL XI: Jordan Pickford; Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling; Harry Kane.
IRAN POSSIBLE XI: Alireza Beiranvand; Sadegh Moharrami, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Ehsan Hajsafi; Saeid Ezatolahi; Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ahmad Nourollahi, Vahid Amiri, Mehdi Taremi; Karim Ansarifard.
Coverage begins with TSN at the World Cup, Monday at 7am ET/4am PT across the TSN Network, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
It has been 56 years since England’s only World Cup triumph, when they captured the 1966 tournament on home soil.
They will not only have to overcome decades of disappointment, but a recent run of bad form if they are going to find success in Qatar.
England are winless in their last six contests as they were relegated in UEFA Nations League, most recently earning a 3-3 draw against Germany that snapped a three-match scoreless drought.
During that stretch they suffered two losses to Hungary, had a loss and a draw against Italy and an additional draw with Germany.
Head coach Gareth Southgate believes his team is ready for the competition.
“For every player and every manager it's the pinnacle of world football so we're really looking forward to testing ourselves on that stage," Southgate told BBC.com.
You can watch every game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup LIVE on TSN, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
While recent returns have not been encouraging, England has fared well at the last two major competitions.
They advanced to the final of the pandemic-delayed EURO 2020 tournament last year, before dropping the final at Wembley Stadium in London on penalties to Italy.
At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, England was eliminated at the semifinal stage by Croatia.
Captain Harry Kane says the team wants to better their 2018 result, but aren’t getting ahead of themselves.
"We're trying not to think that far ahead but of course that's the dream and what we're aiming to do," said Kane. "It's going to be a tough tournament, we have to prepare for that, but really excited to get going."
Iran is playing in their sixth Men’s FIFA World Cup and third in a row since they returned to the tournament at the 2014 competition in Brazil.
The top-ranked Asian Football Confederation team at the World Cup, Iran has never advanced beyond the group stage and have only collected two wins, defeating the United States in 1998 and Morocco in 2018.
Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz says that despite past failures, the team’s goal remains reaching the knockout stages of the tournament.
“We want to move forward, be better, and for sure we have our expectations to reach the second stage of the World Cup,” Queiroz told ESPN.com in September. “Nothing has changed. We go for our third World Cup together with the same belief and the same ambition to be there.”
Iran dropped a behind-closed doors friendly to Tunisia in their final warm-up ahead of the tournament.
They were unbeaten in their last three matches before that, with a draw against Senegal sandwiched by victories over Uruguay and Nicaragua.
England boasts a lineup of international stars led by Kane, who has 51 goals, behind only Wayne Rooney’s 53 on the all-time list for the country.
Iran’s leading international scorer Sardar Azmoun has 41 goals and was named to the team despite suffering a calf injury in October.
England and Iran have never met in international football.
ENGLAND POTENTIAL XI: Jordan Pickford; Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling; Harry Kane.
IRAN POSSIBLE XI: Alireza Beiranvand; Sadegh Moharrami, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Ehsan Hajsafi; Saeid Ezatolahi; Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ahmad Nourollahi, Vahid Amiri, Mehdi Taremi; Karim Ansarifard.