The FIFA World Cup continues with a triple header on Monday which begins with the Group B opener between England and Iran in what feels like a key game inside the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan.
England will be heading to Qatar with their sights set firmly on winning the tournament while for Iran you would imagine their overriding aim will be to come out of the group. It will be interesting to see their intent during this game.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the BBC One channel in the UK. The build-up in Al Rayyan begins at 12 noon with the action kicking off at 1pm.
England
England have been to the semi-finals of the last World Cup, semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League and then the final of Euro 2020 so they have turned themselves into a very good tournament side. Largely what has gone before won’t matter too much now but that experience is always good to have on side and England will be looking to tap into it in what are strange circumstances for this tournament given the timing of it and the short build-up for most of the teams.
I think it is fair to say that there are question marks on this England defence but this isn’t the first time they have gone into an event with those questions hanging over them only to perform well. Where England do look strong is in the attacking areas. The only doubts are whether Gareth Southgate will take the shackles off enough for those talented players to be able to do their thing throughout the competition.
Iran
Iran were very good in qualifying for this tournament but they have become a bit of an unknown quantity again since then because only recently did Carlos Quieroz take over in the hot seat once again. He was the coach when they competed in Russia four years ago so we aren’t completely in the dark but they had become a side with much more attacking intent while Quieroz was away and you suspect they will revert to the tight, cautious team they were under him the first time around.
One thing we can guarantee with a Quieroz team is that it will be competitive and very technically proficient. You would like them to use some of their attacking talent but Quieroz has always been a coach that bases his success on his teams being hard to beat and break down so there is a chance they’ll be a tough watch in the competition. One or two more of their players are in the big leagues than four years ago so they should carry some sort of a threat.
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Team News
It looks like England boss Gareth Southgate is going to go in with a back four in this match which means that Harry Maguire will partner John Stones at the back. Mason Mount is expected to get the nod over Phil Foden in the attacking midfield role.
Sardar Azmoun is on a race against time to be fit for the opening match with the Bayer Leverkusen striker having been missing for the last seven weeks with a calf injury. If he isn’t good to go then Porto forward Mehdi Taremi could carry the Iranian hopes.
Betting
I’ll go with a couple of bets on this match. It is easy to think that England are going to win this match with plenty in hand but I don’t see it that way. Spain only beat Iran 1-0 at the last World Cup while Portugal didn’t even beat them. Carlos Quieroz is known for having his sides defensively organised, hard to break down and therefore hard to beat. I do think England win the match though. They have so many attacking options that I expect someone to create the killer chance somewhere along the line. The other reason why England might not win this easily is they haven’t won a World Cup opener by more than a goal since 1998 and their two group wins at Euro 2020 last year were both 1-0. That feels like a score that could hit here but I like the 12/5 on England to win by one goal which gives us the 2-1 as well.
The other bet I like is for there to be more than 30.5 booking points. For those not accustomed to the market we get 10 points for a yellow and 25 for a red card so we are looking for four yellows or a yellow and a red for this line to cover. We have a Brazilian arbiter for this match and he likes to dish the cards out and we are still early enough in the tournament for the referees to be looking to put their mark on proceedings. We saw six cards dished out in the opening game which was a non-event for the most part. I expect Iran to put themselves about here and if England get frustrated they could do something rash. There is also the threat of Harry Kane getting booked if he wears the OneLove armband and although I don’t see that happening it wouldn’t hurt us if it does. I think this match delivers the required booking points.
Bet Builder
For at least one match each day of the tournament we’ll put together a bet builder for some added interest. This match is the one for us on Monday and here is our selection:
Under 2.5 goals – England start slowly and Iran aren’t attack minded
Over 2.5 cards – Explained above
K.Trippier Over 0.5 shots – He’ll be on free kick duty and should be further forward against a deep defence
H.Kane Over 0.5 shot on target – England’s talisman can hit the target
Tips
Back England to win by 1 goal for a 3/10 stake at 3.40 with Bet365
Back Over 30.5 booking points for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with Boylesports
Back it here:
Back Bet Builder for a 1/10 stake at 6.00 with Bet365
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