England vs. Iran: Who could be the key players in World Cup Group B opener?

It is the only group at this winter's tournament which sees all four teams ranked inside the top 20 in the world, but England are still firm favourites to top the group.

However, they traditionally do not start World Cups too well, while Iran have been in far better form than their opponents in the build-up to the tournament.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who could be the key players in the contest at the Khalifa International Stadium.

ENGLAND

STAR MAN - HARRY KANE

With countless individual accolades to his name but no major team trophy to go alongside them, Harry Kane enters the 2022 World Cup wearing the armband for England and looking to further cement his place in Three Lions folklore.

The 29-year-old has netted 51 goals for his country down the years - only Ellen White (52) and Wayne Rooney (53) have more - so replicating his Golden Boot-winning showing of six goals from the 2018 edition would see the Tottenham man become his nation's all-time leading scorer.

It is easy to forget the stellar start Kane has had to the Premier League season given the form of Erling Braut Haaland and Tottenham's recent struggles, but the England captain still has 11 goals from 14 Premier League games so far this term and is growing restless for a major trophy.

Kane has committed himself to Tottenham for the past couple of transfer windows despite widespread interest from elsewhere, and Bayern Munich will seemingly be the next giants to try their luck as they look to fill the Robert Lewandowski-sized void.

However, any talk surrounding Kane's future or possible contract renewal with Tottenham are on hold for the time being, as the prolific forward seeks to engineer a memorable World Cup campaign for the Three Lions.

IRAN

STAR MAN - MEHDI TAREMI

Iran are a team who are focused on keeping clean sheets first and foremost, certainly now that Queiroz has returned to the helm, increasing the burden on their attackers to produce moments of magic to win matches.

While Karim Ansarifard and Sardar Azmoun may have scored more goals for their country than him heading into the World Cup, there is little doubt that Mehdi Taremi is Iran's most in-form attacker and most potent forward at their disposal.

The 30-year-old has bagged 28 goals in only 60 caps for Iran, and has scored 62 times in 114 appearances since joining Portuguese Primeira Liga champions Porto in 2020.

Taremi has proven himself at the highest level by scoring five goals in five Champions League matches already this season, helping the Dragons to top spot in Group B, and Queiroz will be counting on a similarly high level of performance from his main man in Qatar.