England carry out World Cup demolition job against Iran

 England carry out World Cup demolition job against Iran.

In the end England knew they could and they did, something of a self- fulfilling prophecy. The nation was convinced and so were their gloriously loyal supporters for without them this would not have been the same convincing England victory that many of us were hoping for. Or maybe it might have been and we were just completely lacking any confidence in Gareth Southgate's England. So we settled down and swept all the filthy stains under the carpet and forgot about the potentially destructive politics that had threatened to overshadow England's opening group match against Iran.

In the background there were dissenting voices, deeply offended by the dreadfully extenuating circumstances that were unfolding before them. This was not an idyllic setting for any sporting contest let alone a World Cup, one hosted in a country that nobody had approved and some had found detestable and abhorrent. How it came to pass is quite beyond anybody's belief but Qatar it is and will be for the next month or so.

In the middle of a monumental homage to chrome, steel and glass, the Qatar skyline is dominated by towering minarets where wailing chants echo around the Middle East with astonishing reverence and idolatry. There are the mosques and temples where the people daily come to pray and worship, a vast mass congregating in religious droves to acknowledge once and for all that the game of football is much more than some cheap propaganda exercise.

We were probably dreading this World Cup because this World Cup should have been banned and banished to the sidelines long before it had ever been contemplated in the first place. But former UEFA head honcho Sepp Blatter has now meekly apologised for the ridiculous choice of country when, quite clearly, the consensus was that Qatar and everything it represented to the rest of the world had now become a world pariah. This decision, in retrospect, should never been made but regrettably we are now faced with damage limitation. There's no turning back from this point.

Somehow it almost feels football has gone back to some distant Biblical hinterland where the muezzin slowly wander around their home country on languid camels and then the Old Testament turns into the New Testament. Qatar and everything in the Middle East and football, you always felt, would never have figured prominently on their daily itinerary and there is an air of novelty which spreads across Saudi Arabia.

For most of us though the political baggage, the bitter taste in collective mouths, the violent opposition to this World Cup and the moral high ground is very much a painful reality. We are now all too familiar with the well documented issues that consistently rear their ugly head. The Qataris appallingly shameful human rights record has now been so frequently analysed and discussed that you must have heard and read about it. The outrageous ban on alcohol in Qatar was something we were warned about months and years ago. Qatar is though teetotal, preaches complete abstinence and doesn't encourage shows of affection.

But most of us back in Britain were watching from the privileged position of pubs, wine bars, schools, offices, village halls and community centres. Some of us were at home while others were simply travelling through and stopping off at some convenient Plasma 64 inch TV set. The right minded amongst us are hoping that the sooner this World Cup is over the better. The impressions are still unfavourable, the messages still shrouded in negativity and nihilism. And yet the show must go on.

England manager Gareth Southgate is still in pole position although privately licking the wounds of defeat to in the Euro 2020 Final at Wembley last year. During the summer though the rehabilitation was far from complete. An embarrassing 4-0 defeat at home to Hungary was the tip of the iceberg for England since it still felt that England were experiencing vertigo and desperately unsure of their bearings.

Before last night's 6-2 demolition of Iran fevered brows were quite hearteningly soothed. England are no longer punch-drunk impostors at World Cup Finals tournaments and are now accustomed to a game designed to get the job done efficiently, skilfully and professionally. There was a feeling that England were still brooding and introspective after the heartache of last year's Euro disappointment. During this summer though England manager Southgate was still wearing sackcloth and ashes. At some point the burden of responsibility will lift for him but the doubters are still wearing worried frowns.

You are reminded of that critical point when England managers were examined from every angle before suddenly the inevitability of bad form and results can lead to prophets of doom. You knew when Don Revie's time was up when ironically the Saudis came calling with substantial wads of cash.When Kevin Keegan walked off the pitch having lost to a single goal to Germany in the old,last Wembley hurrah, we realised that Keegan was not a happy bunny and the legendary England and Liverpool legend was now history. Keegan impulsively quit the England job.

It is now 56 years since England had won the World Cup and when Sir Alf Ramsey suffered hurt and rejection when he dragged off Martin Peters and Bobby Charlton in the 1970 World Cup of Mexico when the West Germans took one look at Peter Bonetti in the England goal and thought it was their birthday. Two years the West Germans exacted sweet revenge when Ramsey's England were humiliatingly outclassed by the West Germans in a grisly 3-1 European Championship defeat to the West Germans at the old Wembley.

Last night though England's blossoming generation of hyper-active, energetic, well balanced and well adjusted players stepped over the white line and proved conclusively that they are no longer pushovers or mugs. Tournament football has always been a punishing assault course for England and although psychological obstacles still exist for Gareth Southgate's men, the way ahead is much clearer than might have been the case in years gone past.

England have now shaken off those opening World Cup blues. The goal-less draw against Morocco in the 1986 World Cup when poor Ray Wilkins was sent off for chucking the ball at a referee, may be lodged deep in the country's subconscious. Then there was the pathetic charade and farce of England's miserable goal-less draw against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup, a forgettable match highlighted by Wayne Rooney's now famous rant at England supporters.

Last night England executed their game plan in devastating fashion. For the first half an hour against Iran, England wove intricate, almost over-elaborate short passing movements in and around the Iranians, works of high culture and art that must have given most England's supporters back in England purring with pleasure. This was an England of high sophistication, a premeditated plan and project, knitting and sewing passes together before linking everything together with cat's cradles of mesmeric passing over and over again.

After the Iranian keeper had to be stretchered off with concussion almost reluctantly, England promptly filled the boots.  Harry Maguire has now been restored to the fold in international circles after private difficulties, calmness and dependability. Alongside Maguire there was the equally as reliable John Stones, with the ever enterprising Luke Shaw always showing initiative. England were positive, progressive and reaching for the stars. They had now developed an excellent relationship with the ball, almost as if the ball had become a kindred spirit, compatible with their very specific thinking.

When Mason Mount of Chelsea, the remarkable Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling began to indulge their whimsical flights of fantasy with the ball at their feet, you always felt that Iran would remain permanently on the back foot. Now England's football oozed from every pore rather like one of those fashionable chocolate fountains at big, lavish parties. There was a real connection here, a palpable smoothness and sleekness about their passing and movement that left us pleasantly surprised.

After Luke Shaw had whipped in a perfect cross following some neat interplay, the wonderfully young Jude Bellingham, too gifted for words, sent a glancing header over the Iran keeper and England were in front. Then the Arsenal sensation Bukayo Saka received the ball on the edge of the Iranian penalty area and drove the ball sweetly low past the keeper for England's second goal. By now England had established an unbreakable grip on the game. 

Now Jude Bellingham was fully living up to his teenage prodigy status. Breaking forward at every opportunity, Bellingham dashed and darted past players, performing all kinds of trickery and chicanery with the ball. The Borussia Dortmund striker could become a permanent fixture in any side that Gareth Southgate may choose. Charging into acres of space, Bellingham surged forward towards the opposition's penalty area before releasing the ball to Raheem Sterling who steered England's third goal deftly into the net. The game was well and truly over for Iran.

In the second half England simply picked and mixed up their passes with an even greater taste and a studied consideration. The match was going nowhere for Iran and the final 45 minutes must have felt like a lifetime which indeed it was. At the end of the first half almost 10 minutes were added on for injury time and the second half followed suit. England kept pouring goals into the Iranian net and the match had now become one of sedateness rather than one of emergency or, dare we say, disaster.

Shortly into the second half, Arsenal's precocious wonder kid Bukayo Saka once again emerged as a central figure in England's richly endowed attack. Saka, sensing blood, jinking, dancing, shimmying, cutting the ball back smartly inside his opponent before ramming the ball home for England's fourth goal. This was followed almost immediately by yet another goal for England. Manchester United's Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish had come on as subs to bring yet more vivacity and vibrancy to England's attack. It was Rashford who, picking the ball up from England captain Harry Kane, ran superbly at his defender leaving defenders flat footed and then almost passing the ball into the net for England's fifth.

In between Iran had scored nothing but consolation goals, the last a penalty when the match had become declared as job done for England. Callum Wilson, Newcastle's muscular striker, gleefully bounded forward into acres of space before racing into a perfect spot and then laying the ball back to Jack Grealish who scored with almost absurd simplicity in a straightforward tap in for the sixth goal. England and Gareth Southgate are up and running. We'll see how far they've come in the forthcoming days and weeks. The United States of America are up next for England. We must hope that the World Cups of 2010 and 1950 are no more than minor catastrophes. For Gareth Southgate this is the business end. We wish him well.