England v Iran - World Cup 2022

It seems like forever since England lost to Croatia in Russia back in 2018, but the time is here for England to start their World Cup redemption arc against Iran.

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Off the back of a catastrophic Nations League campaign, England and Iran face off at the Khalifa International Stadium at 1pm on Monday. Obviously, it's not as warm here as in Qatar, or what we're used to for the World Cup, but there is no better place to watch the World Cup this winter than with We Love Sport!

Is the Nations League catastrophe forgotten about? This is England's first game since they were relegated from the top tier of the Nations League. It was a calamitous spell which had 0 wins and a 4-0 loss at the hands of Hungary, leading to people calling for Gareth Southgate's head. With this, it can actually be said that for the first time in Southgate's reign, there isn't fantastic confidence heading into a tournament. The 2018 World Cup and EURO 2020 tournaments were both brilliant for the nation, and truly gave everyone a sense of belief. In the England camp, there is a fine belief that the team can go one step further, despite their form leading up to the tournament. Will England brush Iran aside like so many assume? As mentioned, England's form coming into this isn't brilliant, however they did have a little cameo against Germany showing what they are truly capable of. Iran, on the other hand, have had mixed fortunes in 2022. They recorded a fantastic win against Uruguay, a draw against Senegal and very recently defeated Nicaragua. Iran have lost twice in 2022, against South Korea and Algeria. Something that isn't common knowledge is that a Carlos Queiroz team is "anti-football." By that, it's meant they do not go all out scoring goals and they do their upmost in not conceding them. In their last three games, they've scored 3 and conceded 1. Bar a few hidings given to the likes of Cambodia, they do not really batter teams. A concerning stat for England is that they have only conceded 2 or more goals in THREE games since May 2018, two of those games coming this year. It should be noted, that includes the World Cup in Russia where they faced Spain and Portugal. As we all know, Gareth Southgate's favoured formation is 5 at the back with 2 holding midfielders. That formation against a team that doesn't concede isn't too promising. Whilst to the naked eye, all three sides in Group B should sweep aside Iran, form suggests that they could actually be the hardest game for all three sides. Team News Everyone is fit for England, but it is questionable whether Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips are match fit and ready to go on Monday. Luke Shaw is the only left back in the squad so it can be assumed he will be starting, with under pressure Harry Maguire looking set to start for Southgate. The questions really lie up top, and who starts for the Three Lions there. Predicted line up (5-2-3); Pickford; Trippier, White, Maguire, Stones, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham; Saka, Kane, Rashford. Iran's side isn't full of names we'd recognise, but Brentford's Saman Ghoddos and Ali Jahanbakhsh, formerly of Brighton are in the squad and raring to go. Talisman Sardar Azmoun hasn't played since October for Bayer Leverkusen, but he has been selected. For now, it seems Porto's Mehdi Tarem will be leading the line.

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Match Prediction It's not going to be as easy as people think, but England have just enough attacking variety to call upon if Iran are holding strong. England 1-0 Iran We Love Sport x World Cup The World Cup is the greatest tournament in the world, and the greatest place in the country to watch it is in any We Love Sport venue. Our venues are incredibly immersive and will give you that feel of being there live, just without the £11.50 pints. Make sure you grab a table for this game and click here to book for any game of the World Cup!