All England goalscorers record World Cup firsts as Three Lions start campaign with SIX goals against Iran

Talk about a good start to the World Cup!

England kicked off their campaign in Qatar with a flying star by inflicting a 6-2 defeat against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Bukayo Saka’s brace, Jude Bellingham’s header and strikes from Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish gave the Three Lions three earned runs in their Group B opener.

Mehdi Taremi scored two consolation goals for Iran – the second on a controversial VAR goal – but England were far superior.

It was an afternoon of firsts for Gareth Southgate’s frantic side, who underlined why they are one of the favorites to win the tournament.

A slow start to the first half kicked off in the 35th minute as Jude Bellingham deftly headed in Luke Shaw’s cross from the left.

It is Bellingham’s first senior goal for England and at 19 years and 145 days he becomes the second youngest player to score at a World Cup for the Three Lions behind Michael Owen (18 years 190 days) .

Bukayo Saka made it 2-0 as he fired the ball off the bar after being tackled by Harry Maguire – his first World Cup goal as well.

Goals from Bellingham and 21-year-old Saka meant England had two players aged 21 or younger in a single World Cup match for the first time in their history.

But they weren’t done yet as Raheem Sterling also netted his first World Cup goal, with the Chelsea striker brilliantly connecting with Harry Kane’s threatening cross from close range in stoppage time. first half.

Saka then got his second and fourth of the afternoon for England, the Arsenal star cutting inside on the right before guiding the ball into the corner of the net in the 62nd minute.

In doing so, Saka passed Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney, who is England’s top scorer, in World Cup goals.

Southgate then made three changes and one of his substitutes – Marcus Rashford – had an immediate impact by scoring England’s fifth and first goal at a major international tournament just 49 seconds after coming on in the fray.

Rashford scored with his first three touches of the match, and it was in fact his first touches in England colors since missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final.

The former continued to arrive as substitute Grealish netted his first major tournament goal for his country on 89 minutes to seal a 6-2 win, the first time this has been the final scoreline in a a World Cup match.

It was also a terrific team goal – with 35 assists in the build-up. It is the most assists in the build-up to a World Cup goal since 1966, according to Opta.

Every England goalscorer against Iran scored their first-ever World Cup goal in this game and it is also their biggest victory in a major tournament.

They scored six goals in a major tournament match for only the second time in their history, also against Panama at the 2018 World Cup, where they won 6-1.

Although it was no first for Southgate, the manager achieved an impressive feat.

The victory is Southgate’s ninth major tournament as England manager, surpassing the tally of legendary Three Lions boss Sir Alf Ramsey.

And we all know what happened when Sir Alf was in charge…