England hit Iran for six in World Cup opener
Rashford and Grealish make late cameo appearances to seal fantastic first win
England kicked off their World Cup campaign with a thumping 6-2 victory over Iran on Monday, with goals from Bellingham, Saka, Sterling, Rashford and Grealish.
The Three Lions were in fine form from the off, with Jude Bellingham opening the scoring in the 35th minute. Bukayo Saka doubled the lead just eight minutes later, before Raheem Sterling made it 3-0 on the stroke of half-time.
Iran pulled one back through Mehdi Taremi in the 65th minute, but Marcus Rashford restored England's three-goal advantage just six minutes later. Jack Grealish then added a sixth in stoppage time to seal a memorable victory.
The win puts England top of Group B, ahead of Wales, the USA and Iran. They will face the USA in their next match on Friday.
England manager Gareth Southgate said: "I'm delighted with the performance and the result. We started the game very brightly and created a lot of chances. We were clinical in front of goal and took our chances well.
"It's important to get off to a good start in a tournament like this, and we've done that. We'll now focus on recovering and preparing for our next match."
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