England vs Iran LIVE – Three Lions to begin World Cup journey

Posted on : 11/21/2022
England vs Iran LIVE – Three Lions to begin World Cup journey
Soccer 

Southgate confirms England to take the knee at World Cup

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England will be hoping to register a much-needed victory in their first World Cup match against Iran this afternoon, with kick-off set for 1pm at the Khalifa International Stadium. Gareth Southgate will be desperate to get off to a strong start in Group B by seeing off the challenge of their unfancied opponents, who will be equally determined to upset the odds and boost their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the tournament.

Southgate is likely to be without two of his England players for today’s test against Iran, with Kyle Walker ruling himself out of the match last week and James Maddison having skipped a number of recent training sessions in order to manage a knee problem. The England boss is expected to name a strong side, though, with the likes of Harry Kane, Kieran Trippier, Jordan Pickford and Jude Bellingham all set to feature for the one-time World Cup winners over the course of their Group B opener in Doha.

The build-up to the match has been somewhat overshadowed by the situation regarding the OneLove captain’s armband, which was initially set to be worn by Kane before the FA backtracked on their plans despite previously insisting that it would go ahead regardless of FIFA’s stance on the matter.

An official FA statement read: “FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.

“As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.

“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.”

Follow Express Sport‘s live updates below.

KEY EVENTS

  • Good morning11:00

    • Iran supporters out in numbers

    Jack Otway in Doha

    Iran fans have been in full voice ahead of today’s game.

    The Metro in Doha was packed with supporters chanting, with their England counterparts certainly outnumbered as kick-off creeps closer.

    There is a relaxed atmosphere around the stadium. As well as chants, there was dancing, music and lots of smiles on show.

    Let’s just hope it’s England fans who have grins on their faces come the final whistle.

    FA backtrack on OneLove armband plans

    The FA and six other national federations, including that of Wales, announced earlier this morning that their captains will not be wearing the OneLove armband at this year’s World Cup in spite of their earlier insistence that they would not be deterred by FIFA’s opposition to the plans.

    An official statement read: “FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.

    “As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.

    “We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband.

    “However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.”

    Good morning

    Hello and welcome to Express Sport‘s live coverage as England begin their World Cup journey against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.

    The Three Lions will be desperate to register a much-needed victory in order to live up to their billing as the favourites to top Group B, but will face a tough test against Iran in their bid to snatch all three points.

    The build-up to the game has been somewhat overshadowed by the saga involving the OneLove armband, which was initially set to be worn by Harry Kane before the FA backtracked on their plan despite previously insisting that it would go ahead regardless of FIFA’s stance on the matter.

    However, Gareth Southgate will be hoping that his players will not be too distracted as they go in search of a perfect start to their World Cup campaign with an important win over Iran.

    We’re just two hours away from kick-off and will be on hand to keep you posted with all the major talking points as well as kick-by-kick updates from the match, so stay tuned!

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