Keep those goals raining down
It was raining goals for the England team in Doha today as it thrashed Iran 6-2 in the opening game of the 2022 World Cup.
In the event-packed first match, Gareth Southgate’s decision to go for an attacking formation – with Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling all in attack – proved fruitful.
This is the second time that England has scored six goals in a single game of a major tournament. This year, it was thanks to Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Jack Grealish, 21 year-old Bukayo Saka – the youngest player to score more than once in a single World Cup game – and 19 year-old Jude Bellingham, whose impressive header goal made the midfielder England’s second youngest World Cup goalscorer ever after Michael Owen in the 1998 World Cup. Bellingham is one of the most exciting emerging names at this year’s World Cup, and a player who is set to have a long career ahead of him.
The game was not short of drama. The Iranian team suffered a blow to morale early on after its goalkeeper, Alireza Beiranvand, collided heads with a teammate as he attempted to intercept a Harry Kane cross and had to be carried off on a stretcher.
Meanwhile, countless fans attempting to watching the game from England were left reeling after BBC’s iPlayer service crashed as it struggled to cope with a sudden increase in demand.
The match was also an indication of just how political this year’s World Cup is set to be.
In a powerful show of solidarity with anti-regime protestors back home, the Iranian football team stood solemnly with their mouths firmly shut, refusing to sing Iran’s national anthem as it blared across the stadium, while a host of supporters in the stands held up signs reading “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
Iran’s football coach, Carlos Queiroz, insisted his players were “free to protest” while BBC Match of the Day presenter, Gary Lineker, noted at half-time that the “very significant gesture” shows that “football is trying to use its power for good.”
Of course, there was a certain irony to Lineker’s comment: the England team’s attempt to use its power to make a political statement on the pitch had been stifled.
The “One Love” armband – a message against LGBTQ+ discrimination in Qatar, where homosexuality is illegal – was conspicuously missing from Captain Harry Kane’s arm.
The FA was one of seven World Cup associations that planned to use the armband during matches. However, alongside Wales, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, the FA backed down today.
This came after Fifa — which prohibits players from wearing any items of kit with political messages – threatened that captains could be given a yellow card if they entered the pitch adorned with the rainbow armband.
Anger directed at Kane has been minimal. Indeed, most seem to recognise the unfairness of leaving coaches and players, already under intense pressure, to be the moral arbiters. However, Fifa is coming under criticism for censoring players while others have voiced frustration at the FA’s climbdown.
More generally, the armband episode has reignited talk about the unsuitability of Qatar – a country with an abysmal human rights record – as a World Cup location.
It’s a debate likely to rumble on for the remainder of the tournament. But what can we expect next on the sporting front? Wales is preparing to take on the US at 7pm UK time tonight and England will face one of those two teams next. Either way, it will be a challenging match. But today’s flying start is a surefire boost to morale.
Write to us with your comments to be considered for publication at letters@reaction.life