By Martyn Herman
DOHA (Reuters) – England cruised into a 3-0 halftime lead in their World Cup Group B opener against Iran on Monday with teenager Jude Bellingham scoring his first international goal and Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling also on target.
Bellingham headed in a cross from the left by Luke Shaw in the 35th minute to reward England’s domination, Saka found the top corner with a left-foot shot in the 43rd minute and Sterling poked in a third from Harry Kane’s pass two minutes later.
Iran suffered a torrid first half and had to replace goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand after he sustained a head injury following a collision with team mate Hosseini Majid, resulting in 14 minutes of stoppage time.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
