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England kickstart their Qatar World Cup campaign against Iran on Monday, which begs a 56-year-old question: Is football coming home?
If the answer is to be “yes”, Gareth Southgate’s team will need to safely navigate Group B, which also features USA and Wales.
Four years ago, a last-gasp header from Harry Kane saw England down Tunisia and begin their World Cup in Russia with a win. The Tottenham striker and his Three Lions teammates went on to reach the semi-finals, where they fell to eventual runners-up Croatia in extra time.
Now in Qatar, a year-and-a-half after losing the Euros final to Italy, England begin a new quest for their first men’s trophy since 1966 as they go head to head with Iran.
Here’s all you need to know.
When is it?
England vs Iran will kick off at 1pm GMT (4pm local time) on Monday 21 November.
The Group B match will take place at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
How can I watch it?
BBC One will air the game live, and it will also be available to stream live on BBC iPlayer.
The Independent, meanwhile, will provide live updates of all the build-up, in-game action, and post-match fallout.
Confirmed line-ups
England XI: Pickford; Trippier, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham; Mount; Sterling, Kane, Saka
Iran XI: Beiranvand, Moharrami, Hajsafi, Mohammadi, Jahanbakhsh, Pouraliganji, Taremi, Cheshmi, Karimi, Hosseini, Nourollahi
Odds
England – 1/3
Iran – 11/1
Draw – 18/5
Via Betfair.
Prediction
Iran will likely sit back and look to frustrate England, hoping for a draw or even a platform to snatch a narrow win. The Three Lions should, however, have the quality to break down Iran; it may just be a matter of whether they can create an opening early or later in the game. If England strike early, Iran will be forced to change tack, which could well see them torn apart. England 4-0 Iran.