England are among the outright favourites to win the 2022 World Cup following a kind draw which has pitted them against Iran, USA and a qualifier that will be either Wales, Ukraine or Scotland. Gareth Southgate was coy when asked about the Group B opponents although he’ll feel that his team can finish top of the section with something to spare.
Southgate has previously steered the Three Lions to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup before England went one better when lining up in the final of the delayed Euro 2020 before losing in the final to Italy. The manager has been a huge success in a high pressure job and England are trading at a short price to beat Iran in their World Cup opener.
Many punters will be putting England in their World Cup match betting accumulators considering that the team have a huge win rate. Harry Kane is enjoying electric form towards the end of the 2021/22 season and he forms a strong spine along with players such as Declan Rice and John Stones.
England cruised through qualifying without putting a foot wrong to inch clear of Poland, with the team’s defence particularly strong and it’s likely that we’ll see Southgate deploy a 4-2-3-1 formation. The big question is which three attacking players will operate behind Kane, with Raheem Sterling looking the likeliest starter, although he could be joined in the starting 11 by Phil Foden, Jack Grealish or Bukayo Saka.
Iran are not at the World Cup to make the numbers up and a defeat in this clash wouldn’t be too much of a setback considering that matches against USA and a qualified team are much more winnable. Dragan Skočić is tasked with delivering a success for a nation who have proven to be stubborn opponents in recent tournaments.
The Iranians finished top of the Asian qualifying section ahead of South Korea, registering eight wins and a draw from their ten games. It was noticeable that they only conceded four goals along the way, with Ehsan Hajsafi an experienced captain who plays his club football for AEK Athens.