The latest attempt by England to win a major tournament gets underway on Monday when they play Iran in Group B action at the Khalifa International Stadium.
For the third time in a row, their rivals are competing on the biggest platform in the world, but they are up against it to advance past the group stage.
Betting Sites England vs Iran
| Team | Bet365 | Betway | 1xbet |
England |
1.33 | 1.42 | 1.39 |
Iran |
11.00 | 12.00 | 10.00 |
England vs Iran Tips and Prediction
Gareth Southgate’s young, exuberant crop will make another attempt to emulate the heroes of 1966, and should the Three Lions continue the trend of outperforming expectations at major competitions under the 52-year-old, the empty suitcase that Declan Rice brought with him to bring home the World Cup trophy will come in handy.
Even though Luke Shaw’s game-winning goal against Italy in the Euro 2020 final eclipsed Kieran Trippier’s stunning free kick against Croatia in the semi-finals four years prior, England finished both tournaments without the winners’ medals on their necks.
The 1966 World Cup champions entered the tournament after a winless Nations League campaign that saw them dropped to League B. They also failed to score from open play until their 3-3 draw with Germany on the final matchday. As a result, optimism is not exactly high this time around.
The Three Lions may not win seven straight matches for the first time since they set the record back in 1958, which would be a major blot on Southgate’s record as talk about his post-World Cup future heats up. This would be an unfortunate piece of unwanted history for England.
Iran should play without any fear knowing that the pressure is completely off their shoulders, unlike England, who has a habit of winning the first World Cup match and losing the next three. Iran won the opening match in 1998, 2006, and 2018, but lost in 2002, 2010 and 2014.
The 20th-ranked country in the world will anticipate competing with Wales and the USA for second place in Group B should England fail to live up to expectations. However, Team Melli is one of several countries that have found themselves in pre-tournament controversy.
Iran was allegedly accused by the Ukrainian FA of providing Russia with weaponry for the current conflict in Eastern Europe, but Carlos Queiroz’s team is now geared ready to compete in the last laps for three consecutive years.
The fact that Iran has never advanced past the group stage of the World Cup in its current format and has only ever won two games in the competition—one of which came against Morocco on the first matchday of Russia 2018—won’t come as much of a surprise.
While Team Melli’s World Cup goals-per-game ratio of 0.6 is the worst of any nation to have played at least 10 matches at the event, they did warm up for the 2022 World Cup by defeating Nicaragua in a friendly last week before losing to Tunisia 2-0 on Wednesday.
On Monday, England and Iran will square off against each other for the first time. Team Melli is aiming to win their first match against European opposition at the ninth attempt, which would undoubtedly cause an early shock in Qatar.
Conclusion
While Team Melli’s World Cup goals-per-game ratio of 0.6 is the worst of any nation to have played at least 10 matches at the event, they did warm up for the 2022 World Cup by defeating Nicaragua in a friendly last week before losing to Tunisia 2-0 on Wednesday.
On Monday, England and Iran will square off against each other for the first time. Team Melli is aiming to win their first match against European opposition at the ninth attempt, which would undoubtedly cause an early shock in Qatar.
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