Qatar World Cup 2022: England vs Iran
Starting line-up
England starting XI: Pickford, Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw, Bellingham, Rice, Saka, Mount, Sterling, Kane
The England vs Iran game should be a straightforward win for England providing they remain focused. It’s a great game to start off a World Cup campaign and build up confidence in the team.
All eyes will be on teenager Jude Bellingham – who is ranked by CIES as the most valuable player at the 2022 World Cup with an estimated transfer value of €202m.
Iran are one of 20 teams to have featured at the previous two World Cups in 2014 and 2018.
Of those 20 teams, Iran have have the fewest shots (47) and the fewest shots on target (10) and the fewest goals (3) in the group stages. They have yet to progress past the first round in a World Cup, winning only two of their 15 matches (v USA in 1998 and Morocco in 2018).
They have scored just nine goals in those games. At 0.6, it’s the lowest goals-per-game ratio of any nation to play more than 10 games.
WTX Sports Prediction – England 4-0 Iran
