England 6 (Bellingham 35; Saka 43, 62; Sterling 45+1; Rashford 71; Grealish 90) Iran 2 (Taremi 65, 90+10 pen)
Murmurings of England’s demise under Gareth Southgate are greatly exaggerated. But Fifa had another controversy to deal with before this World Cup wipe-out even started as the Iranian players stood in silent solidarity with their people during the national anthem.
“Woman, Life, Freedom” has become the rallying cry for Iranians since Mahsa Amini died in police custody in Tehran last September, after the 22-year-old student was arrested for showing hair under her hijab.
And while England and other European teams abandoned the ‘One Love’ captain’s armband, designed to support LGBTQ+ rights, after Fifa threatened Harry Kane and Virgil van Dijk with yellow cards, the Iranian players refused to let this moment pass by doing nothing.
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So, they remained tight lipped, as thousands of their fans jeered the anthem and wept openly in protest against the Islamic Republic’s crackdown on street marches.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz seemed to misinterpret this powerful moment on the global football stage.
“In 2014 and 2018 we had full support from the fans but you saw what happened today,” said Queiroz. “If the fans do not want to support the team they should stay home. Why do they come here to be against the team? To have fans that only support the team when they are winning, we don’t need that.”
The fan protest was clearly against the regime, not the national team.
“I want to emphasize this point,” he continued. “You don’t even imagine, you don’t even know, behind the scenes what these kids they are living in the last few days, just because they want to play football.
“Can you imagine that at one stage in your life that whatever you say or do or think, you are killed? They only have one hope – to play for the people.”
For England, it was the first opportunity to serenade King Charles III on foreign soil. They sang, to a man, before Southgate’s reinvigorated outfit cut Iran open with first-half goals from Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling, followed by Saka’s brilliant second, and a fifth and a sixth by subs Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish.
At the World Cup no one can hear you scream. Blaring music sees to that. What a shame because both countries’ supporters came out in force, streaming off the Metrolink gold line for what, finally, felt like a major tournament. The temperature tipped 28 degrees outside, inside the Khalifa International stadium it was chilly due to the hugely expensive air conditioning system.
[ The Irish Times view: Fifa shows its true coloursOpens in new window ]
The game had barely settled when Kane’s sharp cross missed the lunging Sterling and Harry Maguire, an attack that prompted an 11 minute injury break due to Qatar goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and Majid Hosseini’s clash of heads. A bloodied Beiranvand was initially allowed to continue, disgracefully, before medical sense prevailed and he was stretchered off.
“He suffered a serious concussion and is on the way to hospital to make final examinations,” Queiroz confirmed.
Later, Maguire was treated on the pitch by an English medic making the big defender follow his finger. “He felt ill,” said Southgate, who nimbly side-stepped any issues outside the realm of sport.
The English drums, among a healthy 45,334 crowd, demanded the dismantling of Iran’s low-block and a star was born when Bellingham leapt over Majid Hosseini to glance Luke Shaw’s superb delivery into the top corner on 35 minutes. The Borussia Dortmund teenager lapped up the adulation, arms spread wide for his iconic shot.
Hey Jude was set to become the song of the summer (sorry, winter) until Saka took hold of the contest. The 21-year-old has been tearing Premier League defences apart this season so his left foot rocket, after another Shaw ball was nudged down by Maguire, should come as no surprise.
The youngster who missed a penalty at Wembley in the Euros final could end up ruling this tournament, alongside the imperious Bellingham, but it is Kane who remains the fulcrum of England’s offence. The skipper’s cleverly squared ball allowed Sterling toe-poke a third.
Iran’s reaction to being bossed by England, in their 1982 retro shirts, was to get physical. Morteza Pouraliganji was booked for a poor challenge on Kane and Kieran Trippier was cut down by Ahmad Nourollahi.
But England refused to let up. Saka took four mesmerising touches, freezing Hosseini and Milad Mohammadi in their boots, before curling home the fourth.
Ali Gholizadeh’s clever assist found Mehdi Taremi to rifle a consolation and the Porto striker also converted an injury time penalty.
The English cavalry of Grealish, Phil Foden and Rashford confirmed the rout with the Manchester United forward cutting inside to slide the fifth beyond replacement ‘keeper Hossein Hosseini and Grealish danced a jig after bagging number six.
Before the finish Queiroz turned to the Iranian crowd, making wild gestures and air kisses, perhaps seeking to keep spirits high ahead of the Welsh game on Friday.
“Iran is not a fake football country, the passion for the game is everywhere,” he said afterwards.
Wonder what country he means?
England: Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire (Dier 70), Shaw; Bellingham, Rice; Saka (Rashford 70), Mount (Foden 71), Sterling (Grealish 71); Kane (Wilson 76).
Iran: Beiranvand (Hosseini 20); Moharrami, Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Kanani 46), Majid Hosseini, Mohammadi (Torabi 63); Hajisafi; Noorollahi (Azmoun 77), Karimi (Ezatollahi 46); Jahanbakhsh (Gholizadeh 46), Taremi, Pouraliganji.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil).
