The 2022 World Cup is finally here with a full slate of matches on Monday, headlined by England taking on Iran in Group B action. It is an important match for England, as the Three Lions look to pick up a pivotal three points out of their first match before taking on historical rivals in the United States and Wales to finish out the group. Here, we look at England vs Iran in our soccer betting picks from Qatar.
England are heavy -300 favorites to get the three points when looking at Monday’s World Cup betting odds. England are -1.25 Asian Handicap favorites and the draw is priced at +400. Iran is +1000 to earn a shock victory and the total is set at 2.5 goals.
England vs Iran Betting Pick
| ℹ️ The Pick: | England 1st Half (-120) |
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This game will be played at Khalifa International Stadium at 8:00 AM ET on Monday, November 21.
Why Bet On England 1st Half:
✅ England will be hungry for an early goal against Iran to get on track in Qatar and force Iran to play more attacking football.
✅ Early goals have been a staple at major tournaments for England under manager Gareth Southgate. Eight times the Three Lions have found the back of the net inside the first 45 minutes during the 2018 World Cup and 2021 Euros combined.
✅ Iran are known for being a stingy defensive unit but showed cracks in their pre-World Cup friendly. Tunisia scored twice in a 2-0 win over Iran, showing some defensive cracks in the process.
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England
Everybody is counting out Iran as the presumed fourth team in the rankings of Group B nations. However, the fans of England, Wales, and the United States all have worries that goals won’t come easy against a nation known for putting its faith in immense defensive performances.
Iran dominated to get to the World Cup, winning eight of 10 games in the third round of Asian qualifying and conceding just four goals.
There is also the matter of Iran’s relative lack of success at the last two World Cups. Iran have had the fewest shots (47), fewest shots on goal (10) and fewest goals of the nations who played in Brazil and Russia. Iran scored just three goals in six World Cup matches, the most concerning number of all and a stat that needs improvement if they want to get out of Group B.
Iran will need their attacking duo of Mehdi Taremi and Sardar Azmoun to step up in Qatar. Taremi is in fine form, scoring 13 goals for Porto this season with five of those coming in the Champions League. Azmoun only scored once for Bayer Leverkusen since joining the Bundesliga club and January but the hope is he’ll find his goalscoring form now that he is back with Iran, where he has 40 goals for his country in 63 appearances.
Iran
The pressure is on for England to bring it home from Qatar after two tantalizingly close runs in their last two international tournaments. England were semi finalists in Russia, getting upset by Croatia before making it to the Finals in the Euros and losing on penalties to Italy.
With those two deep tournament runs behind them, the expectation for the Three Lions is to do it again and hopefully lift the trophy when the dust is settled. Especially after flying through qualifying, where England had the best goal difference in the UEFA qualifiers after scoring 39 times and conceding just three goals.
The matchup against Iran is tougher than some pundits in England are conveying in the lead up. Iran is ranked 20th in the FIFA rankings entering Qatar, ahead of nations such as Poland and Serbia.
If England want a win over Iran, they likely will need a goal from their leader in attack in Harry Kane. Kane was electric in the group stage of the last World Cup, scoring five goals in the group qualifiers to set him up to eventually take home the Golden Boot. Kane finished tied for the top goalscorer in European qualifying, tying Memphis Depay of the Netherlands with 12.
