One of the favourites for the FIFA World Cup 2022, England started their campaign in this tournament with an impressive 6-2 win against Iran in the Group B match.
First half: England 3 – Iran 0
After the youngster Jude Bellingham scored the opening goal of the match in 35 minutes, another youngster Bukayo Saka scored his first World Cup goal in 43 minutes.
During the first stoppage time of the first half, Raheem Sterling made the scoreline 3-0.
Second half: England 3 – Iran 2 (Final scoreline: England 6 – Iran 2)
Later, in the second half, the Player of the Match Saka scored his second goal of the game in 62 minutes. Three minutes later, Mehdi Taremi finally brought some joy to Iran with a goal.
The substitute player Marcus Rashford made the scoreline 5-1 in 71 minutes after scoring his first World Cup goal by spending less than a minute on the field, where he had only three touches. In the 90th minute, another substitute, Jack Grealish, scored the sixth English goal that evening.
At the final moment of the game, Taremi made the scoreline 6-2 as the Iranian forward successfully converted a penalty.
Here are some key stats of that England vs Iran match:
(England)
The 19 years and 145 days old Jude Bellingham became the second youngest English goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup history. The 18 years and 190 days old Michael Owen is this record holder after scoring his first World Cup goal against Romania during the group stage of the World Cup 1998. (Source: OptaJose).
At the end of the first half of that game, England completed 366 passes. Since the FIFA World Cup 1966, England claimed the second most passes record for a team in the first half of a World Cup match. Spain recorded 395 passes during the first half of the World Cup 2018 match against Russia (in the Round of 16). (Source: OptaJose)
Since the German footballer Franz Beckenbauer scored two goals against Switzerland at the age of 20 years and 304 days during the group stage of the FIFA World Cup 1966, the 21 years and 77 days old Bukayo Saka became the youngest player to score at least two goals in a FIFA World Cup match. (Source: OptaJose).
While the substitute player Marcus Rashford scored a goal in just 49 seconds after coming to the pitch in 70 minutes of the game, it was the third-quickest goal by a substitute in FIFA World Cup history. (Source: OptaJose).
It was the second time when England scored five or more goals in a FIFA World Cup match. Before this 6-2 win, England claimed a 6-1 victory against Panama during the Group Stage of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
(Iran)
At the end of the first half of that game, Iran completed only 46 passes. Since the FIFA World Cup 1966, Iran recorded the fewest passes completed by a team in the first half of a World Cup match. (Source: OptaJose).
It was the second time when Iran scored two goals in a FIFA World Cup match. Earlier, during a group stage game of the FIFA World Cup 1998, they beat USA by 2-1.
Mehdi Taremi became the first Iran footballer to score two goals in a World Cup game.
This 6-2 scoreline is Iran’s biggest defeat margin (4) in their World Cup history. Previously, they twice experienced three-goal deficit defeats in the World Cup (3-0 vs Netherlands and 4-1 vs Peru during the first round group stage in World Cup 1978).
Must Read | FIFA World Cup 2022: Iran - World Cup Records and Stats and FIFA World Cup 2022: England - World Cup Records and Stats
