England have kicked off their World Cup in emphatic style with a thumping 6-2 win over Iran in their first match in Qatar.
Goals from Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and two from Arsenal's Bukayo Saka helped Gareth Southgate's men to a comfortable win in the Middle East.
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Iran's top striker Mehdi Taremi did grab two consolation goals, one late from the penalty spot, for the Iranian's who were expected to cause a few problems for England but they struggled after their first choice goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was forced to leave the game early because of a head injury.
From their perspective the match will be best remembered for the brave protest that their players took part in at the start of the game when they refused to sing the national anthem, in defiance of the nations government following the death of Mahsa Amini.
But for England is was a very promising start to the competition and fans are revelling in what it might mean for the rest of the tournament. Here are some of the best reactions:
\u201cJude Bellingham is the first player younger than GTA: Vice City to score a World Cup goal\u201d— Duncan Alexander (@Duncan Alexander) 1669038033
\u201cI mean yeah look the thing abt the armband is we're here to do awareness but like what if fifa shouted at us? & if we boycotted it altogether we couldn't do goals could we? Nobody thinks of tht do they when they're like oh u let us down big time u cowards. Nobody uses their heads\u201d— R\u00f3is\u00edn Lanigan (@R\u00f3is\u00edn Lanigan) 1669039126
\u201cJude Bellingham was born the same week Justin Timberlake released Se\u00f1orita\n\njust putting that out there\u201d— Gabe (@Gabe) 1669032420
\u201cBring on Nick Pope\u201d— Burger King (@Burger King) 1669039410
\u201cSaka and Rashford scoring in the opening of the World Cup after everything they were put through after the Euros final feels like a statement.\u201d— Ash Sarkar (@Ash Sarkar) 1669041895
\u201cSterling suddenly a Pele regen after taking the Chelsea shirt off \u201d— Dubois (@Dubois) 1669038446
\u201chttps://t.co/WxSQSe6eHj\u201d— Carl Anka (@Carl Anka) 1669042794
\u201cMaybe Pep just tells Grealish not to score goals\u201d— Grace Robertson \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f (@Grace Robertson \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f) 1669042784
\u201cIT\u2019S ONLY FACKIN COMIN HOME! \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f\u201d— Tez (@Tez) 1669042786
\u201cBirmingham and Villa fans after Bellingham and Grealish both score.\u201d— The Second Tier (@The Second Tier) 1669043005
\u201cJack Grealish remains a truly wonderful human being\u201d— James (@James) 1669043084
\u201cThe reason behind @JackGrealish celebration \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd\u201d— Fara Williams MBE (@Fara Williams MBE) 1669043295
\u201cMassive respect Callum Wilson for passing that ball. He\u2019d have loved a World Cup goal but played the team game. That\u2019ll mean a lot to Gareth too. \n\n\ud83d\udc4f\ud83d\udc4f\u201d— Jake Humphrey (@Jake Humphrey) 1669042829
\u201cNumber 1 album and massive England win in the same week! Happy days!\u201d— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis Tomlinson) 1669043790
\u201cNo. YOU'RE crying. \n\n@JackGrealish, you are a legend. ~AA #England\u201d— Best for Britain (@Best for Britain) 1669044728
\u201cEngland fans watching Iran get a penalty for that challenge after the Harry Maguire incident in the first half \ud83d\udc40\u201d— Match of the Day (@Match of the Day) 1669043717
\u201cVAR deciding whether or not to award a penalty\u2026\u201d— Paddy Power (@Paddy Power) 1669043791
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