Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham are special. Gareth Southgate knows how to open a tournament. England were crucially brilliant yet vulnerable.
1) It was almost perfect. England were commanding but crucially not flawless, showing just enough sloppiness in defence to safeguard against any early hubris. The big selection call of Bukayo Saka starting was justified beyond even Gareth Southgate’s wildest imagination for the second successive major tournament; Harry Maguire was excellent until the precise point he wasn’t, giving just enough ammunition for both his critics and plaudits to continue on their merry ways. Jordan Pickford had the opportunity to complain about his defence making him do his job and Jack Grealish was fouled more often than all but one player despite coming on in the 70th minute. Jude Bellingham was impeccable. The substitutions were superb.
Southgate, for four more days at least, is the one again. The way he put the post-match focus on the concession of two goals rather than the scoring of half a dozen was absolutely masterful. Let the man enjoy having his handbrake cake and eating it.
2) There were 24 minutes of stoppage time, nine different players scoring or assisting, six goals and three points. But imagine how impactful that would have been without the One Love armband surrender. England were in the perfect position to make a statement that resonated beyond those 120 minutes against Iran and they summarily failed.
The gulf in quality during the game favoured England but the juxtaposition between a country abandoning an already diluted stance due to the threat of their captain receiving a booking, and the negative reaction of Iran’s players and fans to their national anthem despite the very real potential ramifications, was stark. The difference between meaningful protest and empty gestures was laid bare before a ball was kicked.
Iranian team not singing their national anthem on the biggest stage is very brave #WomanLifeFreedom pic.twitter.com/CYE3BePsVc
— Wu-Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) November 21, 2022
3) The calibre of opponent will be used to downplay any growing optimism – and Iran were somehow deliberately conservative yet eminently porous. But this was unprecedented ease and confidence from an England team in the opening fixture of a major tournament.
Only in 2018, 2000, 1998, 1982, 1958, 1954 and 1950 had England scored two goals or more in their first game of a World Cup or European…
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