World Cup Group B England v Iran 1pm Monday 21st November 2022
Iran and England will be making a bit of history at the World Cup on Monday 21st November as the sides are yet to play an International game.
The match betting suggests an easy win for England at 1.33, with the draw 4.75 and Iran 11.00, but there are only 15 places between the teams in the FIFA rankings with England at 5 and Iran at 20.
Yes, England should be getting the job done here, but Iran are sure to make life tough in this Group B opener and have lost only 2 of their last 14 games, whereas England come into the game on a bit a rocky patch – having NOT won in their last 6.
England’s last game was a 3-3 draw with Germany and that stalemate meant that the Three Lions have drawn 50% of their last six matches now, but despite netting three last time have also not scored in 4 of their last 6 – slightly worrying figures for England fans heading into a World Cup.
We’ve also seen 4 of England’s last 6 games go UNDER 2.5 GOALS, so this might appeal at 1.66, while both teams DIDN’T score in 6 of their last 7 games too. You can back this at 1.40.
With a record 51 England goals, the Spurs hitman Harry Kane is always going to be popular in the scoring markets. We’ll know he’ll start, unlike a lot of the other players and so the 3.75 (1st) or 2.10 (anytime) options are sure to attract a lot of interest.
Looking at Iran, they are unbeaten in their last three games and one of those matches was a 1-0 win over Uruguay only in September which suggests they might not be the pushover all England fans are hoping.
Since then, they’ve drawn 1-1 to Senegal, who are ranked 18th in the World and will come here full of confidence after a 1-0 win over Nicaragua.
Both teams DIDN’T score in 7 of their last 9 games, so this supports this option again at 1.40, while 6 of their last 7 matches also went Under 2.5 Goals.
Their main men when it comes to scoring is Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, who has netted 28 times, and Sardar Azmoun, who plays for Bayer Leverkusen and has scored 41 times from 65 caps (63%). Taremi is on offer at 17.00 (1st) or 8.00 (anytime), while Azmoun can be backed at 17.00 (1st) or 8.00 (anytime).
Overall, it’s a game that England will be fully expected to win and the match odds reflect this. However, you also feel Iran will make life hard for the Three Lions and having beaten Uruguay recently are no strangers to taking a big scalp.
Add in that England head into the match without a win from their last 6 games, then could this be an early World Cup banana skin for Southgate’s men – possibly.
With that in mind, the 1.33 in the match betting looks a bit short. The ‘both teams not to score’ is tempting but is also a tad skinny at 1.40. So, we’ll happy to side with UNDER 2.5 GOALS here at 1.66 – a bet that has paid out in 67% of England’s last six matches and also in 86% of Iran’s last 7 fixtures.
BEST BET: UNDER 2.5 GOALS @ 1.66
England v Iran Match Stats
- FIFA World Rankings: England 5, Iran 20
- England have NOT won in their last 6 games
- England have DRAWN 3 of their last 6 games
- England have failed to score in 4 of their last 6 games
- 4 of England’s last 6 games went UNDER 2.5 GOALS
- Both teams DIDN’T scored in 6 of England’s last 7 games
- Harry Kane has scored 51 goals for England
- Iran are unbeaten in their last 3 games
- Iran have won 4 of their last 7 games 1-0
- Iran have let in just 1 goal in their last 3 games
- Both teams DIDN’T score in 7 of Iran’s last 9 games
- 6 of Iran’s last 7 games went UNDER 2.5 GOALS
- Iran have lost only 2 of their last 22 games
- Sardar Azmoun has scored 41 goals for Iran
- Iran’s Mehdi Taremi has scored 28 goals for Iran
Iran’s Last 5 Games
- 10th Nov 22: Iran 1-0 Nicaragua
- 27th Sept 22: Senegal 1-1 Iran
- 23rd Sept 22: Iran 1-0 Uruguay
- 12th June 22: Iran 1-2 Algeria
- 29th March 22: Iran 2-0 Lebanon
England’s Last 5 Games
- 26th Sept 22: England 3-3 Germany
- 23rd Sept 22: Italy 1-0 England
- 14th Jun 22: England 0-4 Hungary
- 11th June 22: England 0-0 Italy
- 7th June 22: Germany 1-1 Germany