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The FIFA World Cup 2022 second match, England vs Iran of group B is hours away from the kickoff. Prior to this, the two teams have never faced each other. Internationally, England holds a significantly higher reputation among fans and critics as one of the favorites to lift the world cup trophy and at times even the contender. Iran, on the other hand, has a history of never making it past the group stage in the FIFA World Cup tournaments.

In the last few major international competitions, England has come so close to lifting the trophy, and this time too the strength of their current team promises that feat. But Iran isn’t the team who gives up so easily. In fact, they are one of those who have one of the most stubborn backlines among Asian nations.

They are almost impossible to penetrate during the initial phase of the competition that holds such a great deal of importance. And that has been true even for the title contenders.

While England has a good possibility to just get the job done against Team Melli, down below lies some analysis as to why it is also equally probable for them to have it frustrating to the bones whilst doing so. Also, take a look at some data to consider why things can also go south for the Three Lions.

England Vs Iran Prediction By Team Strengths And Forms – Their History

England, in recent times, seems to have gained the confidence of going as further as they could in these sorts of competitions. They reached the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup followed by an impressive run at the Euro 2020 where they beat the likes of Germany in the last four en route to the finale of the competition.

This time too they aren’t just favorites but one of the strong title contenders. In addition, they have a squad full of top-tier English Premier League talents.

Iran, in comparison, has been at the FIFA World Cup tournaments a total of five times, and Qatar will be their sixth. As mentioned, in none of their previous appearances Iran made it out of their group stage. They have just existed in the group phase only. While Iran doesn’t have as many star players as England, some of their forwards have been gaining big attention from some of the top European clubs.

In the field, they can present a long-lasting mid and back on their day and even have a frequent habit of holding even the in-form teams to a draw. They also topped their qualifiers group ahead of the traditional big name in the continent, South Korea.

Iran is almost perfect on being low blocks against the big opponent and in the last few games, England does have struggled to create opportunities against such opponents. Team Melli can also keep things tight considering England’s current lack of midfielders.

England and Iran’s Weaknesses

While England had a good run in the 2018 World Cup and at the 2020 Euro, recently, they have regressed in that form. England has come to the World Cup 2022 with zero wins in their past six matches: they drew three of them while losing three. These results, England faced exclusively in the recently happened UEFA Nations League which saw them facing relegation.

Harry Kane and his team finished bottom of their group behind Italy, Hungary, and Germany. Their backline is the one that has been showing the key problems. Southgate has been facing quite the criticism for showing his preference for defender-in-a-poor form, Harry Maguire. They also lack the patience to sit back and defend.

On the other hand, Iran hasn’t played against a team that has the caliber of England this year. They are also facing England amidst the injury issue of their star attacker, Sardar Azmoun. They already are in the competition without two other important men, Allahyar Sayyadmanesh and Omid Ebrahimi who also couldn’t make it to the competition due to injuries.

England Vs Iran Prediction By Numbers

The majority of polls say England, based on their recent forms and their players’ stature, has a pretty good chance of taking three points away from Iran. In terms of numbers, the manager Gareth Southgate’s team has been given a little more than a 70% chance of winning the game with the possibility of a draw at 18.1%.

Iran, on the other hand, has received close to a 10% chance of upsetting England.

As for the likeliest scoreline, the supercomputers and analysts have somewhat agreed it to be close to 2-1 to England. Bet 365 has given it the odds of 10/1 with the first goal coming from the captain, Harry Kane at 11/4.

England’s Recent Form In The Last 10 Matches

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Iran’s Recent Forms In The Last 10 Matches

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Our Prediction

England 2-1 Iran