Sports

England vs. Iran live updates: England start as heavy favorites.

An England training session south of Doha, Qatar, on Sunday.Credit…Paul Ellis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Iranian players at a training session in Doha on Friday.Credit…Fadel Senna/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Good morning and صبح بخیر.

England begins its now 56-year quest to win a major trophy against underdog Iran in Qatar at 8 a.m. Eastern.

England will send out a lineup of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford; defenders Kieran Trippier, John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw; midfielders Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice; and forwards Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.

The formidable Premier League trio of Saka, Mount and Sterling will support Kane up front, which should give England a lot of attacking punch.

Iran’s far less familiar lineup is goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand; defenders Morteza Pouraliganji, Roozbeh Cheshmi and Majid Hosseini; midfielders Sadegh Moharrami, Milad Mohammadi, Ahmad Noorollahi, Ali Karimi and Ehsan Hajsafi; and attackers Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Taremi.

Expect three at the back and five midfielders, making for what will essentially be a clogged eight-man defense.

Make no mistake, Iran are big underdogs today, a goal and a half in the American sports betting parlance. They would be happy with a draw against last year’s European championship finalists.

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