2022 World Cup: England vs. Iran Preview, Odds, Prediction

England meets Iran on Saturday afternoon in the opening clash of this day. The Albion comes to Qatar as one of the toughest teams to beat, and a favorite for the title. We’ve seen them so close to the glory over the past two competitions, in Russia, and in last year’s EURO, so many of the fans believe that the time has come for them to celebrate a trophy. As for Iran, things aren’t that great for the moment, with lots of turbulence hitting the team in recent time.

Preview

England (-295) is in terrible form when looking at the most recent results, with them failing to win in the previous six events, all of them in the UEFA Nations League. By the way, Southgate’s crew suffered relegation to the second division in this competition.

Though, we need to say that England didn’t stress too much about these games and that when it mattered the most, which was in the group stage of the World Cup qualifiers, they were pretty swift and confident in securing the ticket to Qatar.

England hasn’t scored in four of those six UNL games, but as we said, a lot of people misinterpret this data, not knowing that Southgate mixed the lineups and wasn’t all about results. We are more than sure that the Three Lions will be much better in Qatar than in the Nations League.

The situation isn’t good in Iran (+800), and here is why. The locker room is divided between two clans, one was for the previous head coach, who led them to Qatar, posting excellent results, even though Iran didn’t play well, while the other was against him. Eventually, Carlos Queiroz came back and is leading Iran for the third time at the World Cup.

Also, the unrest back at home creates tension, and the players aren’t quiet about it at all. So all that has a certain negative influence on the chemistry and the overall atmosphere.

The better part of this unit is the attack, with Azmoun, Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Taremi leading the way. They are among the best strikers in their championships and be sure that they will cause a lot of trouble in Qatar. As for others, the starters are role players in their units, but none of them is an exceptional and sounding name.

Latest News

The English unit is ready to play, and apart from one name all the starters are fit. Kyle Walker will be out of the picture for the opening clash.

As for the Iranians, the latest sources are suggesting that all the players seem healthy.

Head to Head Games

There weren’t any official matches played between England and Iran in the past.

Prediction

England is our pick here, and we suggest betting on the Albion because of their quality and also, due to the situation in the Iranian team. We are more than sure there is some sort of a negative atmosphere because of all the previous developments, and even though this is a World Cup, nobody can stay immune to such circumstances.

Pick: England Wins -295