The England players who impressed in thrashing of Iran
By Sean Walsh
England smashed Iran in their opening game of the 2022 World Cup, putting on a show in a memorable 6-2 win in Qatar.
Gareth Southgate has often been criticised for playing it too safe, but hushed a few doubters as his Three Lions put Carlos Queiroz's men to the sword.
In truth, we could name every player in an England shirt in this article, but here are our picks for the standout stars against Iran.
1. Jude Bellingham
Let's start with the first goalscorer.
Jude Bellingham went into the World Cup as one of the game's most sought-after stars, and his price tag will be rising off the back of this performance.
The Borussia Dortmund midfielder broke the deadlock with a surging run from midfield, arriving in the box at the right time to rise high and head in Luke Shaw's cross.
There were shades of Steven Gerrard in Istanbul about the move, and Iran weren't able to handle the teenager's movement all afternoon.
2. Luke Shaw
From the scorer of the opener to the assister, Shaw has worked his way back into the Manchester United fold lately and his fine return to form continued here.
His delivery was continually on the money and, like with Bellingham, Iran had no idea how to deal with his overlapping runs and interplay with others on England's left-hand side.
Shaw now has a goal involvement in four of England's last five tournament games.
3. Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka's England redemption continued with a wonderfully-taken brace.
The Arsenal winger was picked ahead of Phil Foden and showed why even early on, troubling Iran with his trickery and nimble footwork.
His performance was rewarded when he doubled the Three Lions' first-half lead, volleying Harry Maguire's header right into the top corner.
After the break, he cut inside from the left to fire in his second
4. Harry Maguire
Good ol' Slabhead. Always comes good in an England shirt.
The much-maligned Maguire came close to scoring a few goals of his own in the opening exchanges before grabbing the assist for Saka.
Bet the fan who brought a 'It's not coming home because of Harry Maguire' flag into the stadium must be feeling pretty stupid.
5. Raheem Sterling
It's a mystery why Graham Potter has been using Raheem Sterling as a pure touchline winger when he's proven to be one of the world's premier scoring threats for over half a decade.
He proved his predatory class once more by combining with Harry Kane (of course), meeting the captain's low cross to add England's third.
6. Harry Kane
And a quick shoutout to the skipper to round off, demonstrating his all-round game with two assists and pulling Iran's defence apart.
There was a hairy moment when his ankle seemed to buckle under a heavy challenge, but he carried on as normal.