England boss Gareth Southgate concerned over defensive woes despite the Three Lions thumping 6-2 win over Iran in World Cup opener

rZhNj9(kn!K@YV)trY)xoGp&. Plenty of goalscorers to name from the England side but it was a sensational performance from Jude Bellingham who opened the scoring with a sublime header and a fine brace from Bukayo Saka. Both were playing their first ever World Cup game and were very confident in taking the game to the opposition with their attacking mindset.

Bukayo Saka scored a brace whereas Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling and substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also registered a goal each to make it six on the opening night. However England coach Gareth Southgate was not happy with the two goals that they conceded.

Southgate admitted that England should be more alert on the defensive side of things. He wants the team to take the game to the next step against the United States in their next game. He also praised how his team attacked and played with fluidity. He pointed out how Iran are tough to break down and score against but his men were on fire and therefore the result is such.

“We’re really pleased to start the tournament in this way and really pleased with our attacking play,” Southgate said. “We know that Iran are difficult to score goals against so it’s a credit to our players of the movement, the quality of our passing and finishing”

However he also added the concerns of conceding twice in the final quarter of the game. He feels the USA will be tougher and they certainly need to pull up their socks for the next game. “At the end of the game, to concede two goals the way we did is not the level we need. We need to be better than we were today against the USA because they will be coming for us full throttle. We will have to reset,” Southgate pointed out.

England dominated the entire game and though the last two goals from Taremi were like a blot on paper, there were other concerns for the Three Lions aswell especially regarding harry Maguire and harry Kane as they picked up knocks in the second half.

Southgate assured the Maguire is alright and he also shared his concern about Harry Kane as he term it a bad tackle. But there are no alarming signs yet and Southgate will hope it stays that way for the rest of the campaign. “I think Harry (Kane) is fine. It looked a bad tackle but he carried on in the game and we took him off because he felt there was a moment we could do that.”

While England secured a thumping win over Iran, the other match in their group between the USA and Wales ended in a 1-1 draw. So when England takes on the USA next there will be plenty at stake for both the teams.