England winners vs Iran as Bellingham and Saka shine in World Cup win

There's only man who deserves to be described as a loser - and that's Gianni Infantino.

England recovered from the disappointment of the scrapped OneLove campaign to defeat Iran 6-2 on Monday. Jude Bellingham's header broke the deadlock before a brace from Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling's strike secured a comfortable win. Substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish completed the scoring late on.

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was denied a clean sheet when Porto striker Mehdi Taremi produced an emphatic second-half finish. Taremi completed his brace by scoring a late penalty in added time. Harry Maguire and Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand both suffered head injuries, with the latter's knock leading to a lengthy first-half delay.

Make no mistake about it, England are serious World Cup candidates.

Winners

Jude Bellingham

After England's climb down earlier in the day, Southgate's side needed to put in a good performance against Iran to boost morale. Thankfully for the Three Lions, Bellingham was on hand to show why he's already one of the best midfielders in the Bundesliga.

The 19-year-old was picked ahead of Euro 2020 hero Kalvin Phillips in the heart of England's midfield and scored a sensational goal to leave Iran chasing the game. Bellingham jumped the highest to nod in Luke Shaw's cross before taking the adulation of the crowd.

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The Borussia Dortmund ace then played an important role in England's third goal. He stormed at Iran's weary defence and fed the ball to Harry Kane, who picked out Sterling with a perfect delivery. The game was over before half-time.

Harry Maguire

If Maguire was looking on Twitter before the game, he would've seen pictures of Iran fans holding up to flags in his honour. "It's not coming home because of Harry Maguire," read the first banner - while the second claimed, "Harry Maguire - your defence is terrified."

It's unlikely those flags will be used again after Maguire's display on Monday. The under pressure Manchester United captain put in a good defensive display in England's World Cup opener and set up Saka's first goal with a brilliant knockdown from Shaw's corner.

Maguire was a handful from corners, and he was unlucky not to win a penalty in the opening minutes of the game when he was dragged to the ground. He also passed the ball around with ease and read the game very well. A very promising display for Southgate.

Frustratingly for Maguire, he was forced to come off with a head injury shortly after Taremi's first goal. Fingers crossed, that substitution was just a precaution.

Raheem Sterling

England's No.10 has struggled since his summer transfer from Manchester City to Chelsea, scoring just three Premier League goals. Southgate stuck by Sterling for the opening game, but a poor display against Iran would've put his starting role in serious doubt.

Yet the 27-year-old repaid his manager's faith by ending the contest on the stroke of half-time. Sterling got on the end of Kane's cross - producing an instinctive finish - to score his first World Cup goal at the 10th attempt. He'll be hoping it's the first of many.

Bukayo Saka

Southgate made a big call by picking Saka ahead of Phil Foden. The decision paid off, as the Arsenal youngster was superb for the 71 minutes he was on the pitch - running at Iran's defence at every chance and showing plenty of composure in front of goal.

Saka took advantage of Maguire's knockdown to lash in England's second goal and his first, before completing his brace after the interval. Sterling was the creator, dancing around the defence before finding his team-mate in the box. As we've seen him do so many times for Arsenal, Saka shifted the ball on to his left foot and finished the move.

Iran

Iran may have lost their opening World Cup game, but they are by no means losers. Carlos Queiroz's side refused to sing Iran's national anthem in a show of support for the ongoing protests back home, where women's rights continue to be curbed by the government.

Nationwide protests started two months ago after Mahsa Amini - a 22-year-old woman - was detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly breaking the country's strict rules on head coverings. She was beaten inside a police van and died of her injuries days later.

As Iran's national anthem rang around the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday, their players stayed silent. Fans inside the ground - many of whom were women - were moved by the show of solidarity. It was the most poignant moment of this World Cup so far.

Loser

Gianni Infantino

England's win was overshadowed by the decision to ditch the OneLove armband - which promotes inclusion and diversity - before kick-off. The Three Lions and other nations caved under pressure after FIFA threatened to book captains for wearing the armband.

"I feel gay," claimed Infantino on Saturday - but the only thing FIFA felt like doing on Monday was quashing protests against Qatar's abhorrent anti-LGBT+ laws. It's unsurprising Infantino apologises for authoritarian regimes - seeing as he will be running unopposed for the FIFA presidency in February. Vladimir Putin will be proud of his friend.

England should've stood up to FIFA, but the real villains of the day are Infantino and his joke of an organisation. The beautiful game deserves much better than the current custodians.

As the Football Supporters' Association argued, "Today we feel contempt for an organisation that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.

"Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure. No country which falls short on LGBT+ rights, women's rights, workers' rights, or any other universal human right, should be given the honour of hosting a World Cup."

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