England kicked off their 2022 FIFA World Cup on Monday, taking on Iran in their opening fixture, and while the European giants entered the tournament on shaky form, the Three Lions took little time to impress in Qatar.
The first half an hour of this tie was cagey, with very few opportunities being available mainly due to a long pause after Iran's first-choice keeper suffered an unfortunate head injury, leading to an early substitution.
However, Southgate's men sparked into life after the 30-minute mark, with highly-rated youngster Jude Bellingham netting his country's opening goal in the 35th minute after receiving a brilliant cross from Luke Shaw.
And just like that, the Dortmund sensation broke the internet. Bellingham, who is already a treasured Englishman despite being only 19, set a brilliant milestone with his headed goal against the Iranians. The Liverpool and Real Madrid target (19 years, 145 days) became the second-youngest Three Lions player to ever score at the FIFA World Cup, with only Michael Owen (18 years, 190 days) sitting ahead of him. Check out Jude's goal in the clips below (videos are geo-restricted).
That header
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 21, 2022
Jude Bellingham got England off the mark!#BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Gb0rSEkZ59
ENGLAND TAKES THE LEAD
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 21, 2022
On the biggest stage Jude Bellingham scores his first goal for England pic.twitter.com/4TOWEHaMmQ
Goal!
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) November 21, 2022
England takes the lead! A fine header from @BellinghamJude what a way to score your first international goal! #FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/bTGMj7LsNI
It did not take too long for the Euro 2020 runners-up to double their lead. From one highly-rated youngster to another, Bukayo Saka also got his name on the scoresheet, netting a lovely goal in his World Cup debut.
A few minutes later, Bellingham, Kane, and Sterling combined to give England a three-nil lead before half-time, with Raheem netting past the opposition keeper.
This is one huge step towards winning the group as Southgate's men will face the U.S. men's national team and Wales next. It will be interesting to see if those two nations can pose England a threat.