The England team started in a devastating style – Newspaper Kommersant No. 216 (7417) of 11/22/2022
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The England team opened their performance at the World Cup in Qatar with a convincing victory over a seemingly dangerous opponent. Exploding at the end of an initially boring and unpromising first-half match against the Iranians, she eventually finished them off with a score of 6:2.
The calm and convincing victory of the England team was, of course, a big surprise, given not only the fact that its opponent was perceived as a rather strong and tenacious team, but also the situation from which the thermonuclear explosion that provided the favorite with just such a victory was born.
The British played for a long time as if they wanted to show as clearly as possible what coach Gareth Southgate is criticized for in the first place in their homeland.
And they criticize him for the fact that he enslaves young players with his attitudes, which are full in the Qatari version of the national team. That is, everything seems to be done correctly, sensibly, but somehow without a spark, or something.
Half-time at the Khalifa International stadium was dominated by melancholy, which was broken by rare more or less interesting events. These, for example, include the hugs started by Ruzbeh Cheshmi and Harry Maguire in the Iranian penalty area, which resulted in the fall of the Englishman (referee Rafael Klaus chose not to pay attention to him, making it clear that the rigidity is quite welcome), and the deepest knockdown in which he found himself , facing a partner, Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand. For a quarter of an hour they brought him to his senses, but ammonia did not help: an experienced goalkeeper was carried away on a stretcher.
In the meantime, Beiranvand was tormented, trying to recover, the well-known resource Opta published a map on which squares of two colors marked areas where opponents made passes. A miserable handful of squares of orange – Iranian – color was lost in the ocean of black, English ones. Fans of the Iranian national team, having compared their own impressions with the map, probably thought that maybe in vain her mentor Carlos Queiroz for some reason left Serdar Azmun, who was still part of the untouchable caste, on the bench: he clings to the ball well. And fans of the England team must have noticed with chagrin that almost all the black squares are located either on its half, or in the middle of the field. And what is the use of such an advantage?
They hardly guessed that soon after the issue with Beiranvand was resolved not in favor of the goalkeeper, the English team, which had just been inert and monotonous, would begin to destroy the Iranians, who were still convincingly defending themselves.
The first goal matured in a measured and not fraught with obvious dangers attack. She taxied to Luke Shaw’s flank cross, after which the youngest player in the England team was in the foreground. 19-year-old Jude Bellingham deftly jumped out from behind Majid Hosseini and sent the ball into the net along a trajectory too difficult for the understudy of the unfortunate Beiranvand Hossein Hosseini.
Then there was the corner. And corners are the bread and butter of the England team at all times, including today. And she confirmed it. Maguire managed a discount in the fight on the penalty line, and Bukayo Saka – an incomparable shot on the move.
It was already in fact a verdict for the Iranian team. After the second conceded goal, she had to get out of her comfort zone, abandoning the defensive style, which she apparently hoped to stick to the whole match.
And the attacking Iranian team was too vulnerable. The very first sharp English counterattack turned out to be a disaster for her.
Scorer Harry Kane was the penultimate member. The position in which he received the ball – close to the curb, did not suggest the possibility of completing the attack. I had to give the transfer to the center, since Raheem Sterling managed to run there. She, this transfer, came out, perhaps not ideally, but Sterling had enough technique to twist the foot properly.
The second half, which lost its importance in terms of the distribution of points in the match, turned out to be even more fun than the first. The remnants of stiffness were thrown into the trash by both the British and the Iranians. Bukayo Saka performed a great solo before sending the ball home, clearing a couple of opponents out of the way with feints and a feint. Mehdi Taremi, a prodigiously effective sniper at Porto, who was kept on a starvation diet, opened the English goal by popping out from behind Declan Rice like a jack-in-the-box. Marcus Rashford finally opened the scoring in the big tournaments, barely coming on as a substitute, after another good pass from Kane, who had become accustomed to the unusual assistant role.
Queiroz nevertheless decided in the end to give game practice to Azmun. In principle, he could no longer spoil anything in any case.
The sixth goal of the British – from Jack Grealish, who lurked before his rapid run on the offside line – nevertheless took place. But the second goal of the Iranians took place – after Azmun hit the post.
Klaus generously added stoppage time in this match. And the Iranians took advantage of his generosity, having managed to earn a confirmed VAR penalty. It was realized, of course, by Taremi, who, however, did not shine with happiness after his blow. There is practically no difference between 1:6 and 2:6.
The second match in group B, in which the teams of the United States and Wales met, will end late in the evening Moscow time.
Group B. First round
England-Iran 6:2
Bellingham, 35; Saka, 43, 62; Sterling, 45+1; Rushford, 71; Grealish, 90 – Taremi, 65, 90 + 13 (pen.).
England: Jordan Pickford – Luke Shaw, John Stones, Harry Maguire (Eric Dyer, 70), Kieran Trippier – Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount (Philip Foden, 70) – Bukayo Saka (Marcus Rushford, 70), Raheem Sterling (Jack Grealish) , 70), Harry Kane (Callum Wilson, 75).
Iran: Alireza Beiranvand (Hossein Hosseini, 20) – Sadegh Moharrami, Morteza Purliganji, Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi (Mahdi Torabi, 63) – Ahmad Nurollahi (Serdar Azmoun, 77), Ruzbeh Cheshmi (Mohammad Kanaani, 46), Ehsan Hajsafi, Ali Karimi (Syed Ezatolahi, 46) – Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Ali Golizade, 46), Mehdi Taremi.
Referee: Rafael Klaus (Brazil).
November 21. Doha, Khalifa International Stadium.
Match statistics
England Iran
Shots on goal 13 7
shots on target 7 3
Corners 8 0
Offsides 2 2
Violations 9 14
Warnings 0 2
% possession 75 25
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