DOHA: England kicks off its World Cup campaign against Iran on Monday in a game that will hopefully answer several questions about Gareth Southgate’s side and also show us just how good Iran is.
England breezed through qualifying for Qatar, scoring 39 goals and conceding just three in a relatively straightforward qualifying group. They also finished as runner-up in the 2021 European Championship, after reaching the semifinals of the World Cup in Russia four years ago.
However, they came to Doha without a win since March after a run of three draws and three defeats (two of those against Hungary) in their last six matches.
Those games saw Southgate chop and change his line-ups and formations, switching from a back four to three central defenders.
It would be a big error to underestimate Iran, who once again has the experienced Carlos Queiroz at the helm following his recent success with Egypt. Queiroz replaces Dragan Skocic, who was ruthlessly sacked after he guided Iran through qualifying with 8 wins from 10 matches.
England’s big question marks are in defence and with Sardar Azmoun, who has scored 40 goals in 63 games, being a threat (although he has struggled for form with Bayer Leverkusen recently). Meanwhile, Mehdi Taremi has 13 goals in 19 games for Porto this season, including five in the Champions League, and is another player who will have to be watched very closely.
The 4 pm kick-off time may also favor the Iranians with temperatures close to 30 degrees at the hottest part of the day in the Khalifa International Stadium.
