Commotion after barely two minutes. Maguire and Stones were clearly pulled down at the first corner kick of the game, but both ref Claus and the VAR, strangely enough, did not see a penalty violation.
A few minutes later, Beiranvand claimed an unenviable leading role. The Iranian goalkeeper slammed his face hard against a teammate and was treated on his nose for minutes. He tried for a while, but was eventually carried off the field.
More than 20 minutes had passed and the game could start again. It was not until half an hour that England was able to convert the dominance into goal danger. On a low cross from Saka, Mount narrowly went wide in one time and Maguire’s header on a corner hit the crossbar. Bellingham fared better not much later. The teenager from Dortmund headed the ball wonderfully beyond the reach of substitute goalkeeper Hosseini on a pass from Shaw: 1-0.
The spell was broken and with two goals in four minutes, England completely knocked Iran out before half-time. Saka left Hosseini without a chance with a wonderful shot in one time and Sterling also beat the goalkeeper with a nice tap on a cross from Kane. The regular 45 minutes were just over, but due to Beiranvand’s endless injury treatment, no less than 14 minutes were added. It became perhaps the longest first half in World Cup history.
The second half was a measure for nothing. England played in saving mode, while Iran was unable to make a fist. On the contrary, on the hour Saka even made it 4-0 with his second goal. On a pass from Charleroi player Gholizadeh, Taremi was able to save the honor from Iran, but twenty minutes before the end Rashford dealt another blow. Barely on the field as a replacement for Saka, he aimed the fifth English goal past Hosseini.
Grealish put the icing on the cake in the final phase with the 6-1. Face to face with Pickford, Azmoun had a chance to soften, but the goalkeeper still pushed the ball against the crossbar with his fingertips. In the end, it still became 6-2 during the 10 (!) minutes of extra time, when the ball hit the spot on the instructions of the VAR. Taremi took his second goal, but it was not more than a cloth for the bleeding for Iran.
