England made an impressive start to their World Cup marketing campaign on Monday as Gareth Southgate’s aspect thrashed Iran 6-2 at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Gareth Bale’s late penalty secured Wales a 1-1 draw with the United States in the different sport in Group B, whereas there was additionally victory for the Netherlands over Senegal.
Here, the PA information company rounds up occasions in Qatar.
Saka shines for emphatic England
England’s rout of Iran noticed Southgate’s males register thrice in every half, with Arsenal ahead Bukayo Saka notching a brace in his first main event look since his penalty shootout miss in final yr’s European Championship closing defeat to Italy.
Teenager Jude Bellingham opened the scoring along with his maiden Three Lions purpose, and Raheem Sterling and substitutes Marcus Rashford – one other who missed a penalty in the Euros closing – and Jack Grealish additionally netted.
Mehdi Taremi scored twice, firstly to make it 4-1 and then a comfort penalty deep into stoppage time, for an Iran aspect that poignantly stood in silence throughout the nationwide anthem in a stand of solidarity with these being mistreated, imprisoned and killed protesting in the nation for gender equality.
Bale Wales’ saviour
Wales secured a degree on their long-awaited return to the World Cup due to star man Bale’s spot-kick with eight minutes of regular time remaining at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
The skipper transformed the penalty, awarded when he was fouled by Tim Ream, previous Matt Turner to take his worldwide report to 41 targets in 109 video games, a joint caps report for the males’s group as he moved alongside unused substitute Chris Gunter.
That cancelled out Timothy Weah’s Thirty sixth-minute strike for the US in what was Wales’ first match at a World Cup for 64 years.
Armband U-turn
Hours earlier than the first of these matches kicked off, it emerged that European nations together with England and Wales had determined in opposition to carrying the ‘One Love’ armbands their captains have been going to don after FIFA threatened them with sporting sanctions.
The rainbow-coloured anti-discrimination armband had been set to be a powerful assertion in a rustic which criminalises same-sex relationships, however the concern of gamers choosing up bookings noticed groups make a late U-turn.
England captain Harry Kane – who as an alternative wore FIFA’s ‘no discrimination’ armband, which isn’t rainbow colored – stated: “We’re disappointed. We wanted to wear it, that decision was taken out of my hands. I turned up to the stadium with the armband that I wore and I was told I had to wear that.”
There was condemnation of FIFA’s determination by the Football Supporters’ Association and Kick It Out, whereas ex-England defender Alex Scott wore the rainbow armband in a pre-match phase on the BBC.
Other controversies
Another speaking level simply earlier than the England sport was ticket issues for his or her followers – when the contest kicked off there have been swathes of empty seats in the stadium, with FIFA’s ticketing app having failed, delaying entry and creating massive queues as supporters tried to realize entry.
There was then additional controversy early on in the match as Iran goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand collided face first with team-mate Majid Hosseini and was initially allowed to proceed taking part in earlier than leaving on a stretcher.
The determination to let Beiranvand – who Iran boss Carlos Queiroz stated had suffered a “serious concussion” – play on was branded an “utter disgrace” by mind harm charity Headway. FIFA stated its “comprehensive concussion protocol”, which is predicated on a “suspect and protect” credo, had been applied in relation to the participant.
Dutch delight
In Group A, the Netherlands defeated Senegal 2-0 due to late targets from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen.
Gakpo put Louis Van Gaal’s males in entrance in the 84th minute and substitute Klaassen added a stoppage-time effort as the Dutch matched the rating from Ecuador’s win over Qatar in the group’s opening match on Sunday.
Messi on his health
Lionel Messi had confused he was in “good condition” forward of Argentina’s Group C opener in opposition to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old captain advised a press convention: “I’m very well physically, good condition. I have no issues whatsoever. I heard there were rumours about having to miss part of the training, or training apart from the team because of a blow – no, it was just precautions, nothing strange or out of the ordinary.”
Tuesday’s video games additionally embrace defending champions France – who had Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema withdraw from their squad as a result of harm – taking up Australia in Group D.
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Group C: Argentina v Saudi Arabia (1000, ITV1), Mexico v Poland (1600, BBC One)
Group D: Denmark v Tunisia (1300, ITV1), France v Australia (1900, BBC One)
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