Saka, Rashford pace England’s rout of Iran
DOHA, Qatar — When Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford last walked off the field at a major international soccer tournament, they were bombarded with racist abuse.
Three goals for England in the team's opening match at this year's World Cup was their immediate riposte.
Saka scored two before giving way to Rashford, who added another in the second half of England's 6-2 rout of Iran on Monday.
The jubilant scene at the Khalifa International Stadium was in contrast to the tears shed following England's penalty shootout loss to Italy in last year's European Championship final. Saka and Rashford both failed to convert from the spot and were targeted on social media.
“It is a moment that has been with me and will be with me forever,” said Saka, who was only 19 during Euro 2020. "But I am so blessed and so grateful to have the coaching staff, not only here with the team at England, but also at Arsenal.
“My friends and my family put their arm around me along with my teammates and the nation supported me to help me get back to a good place. I feel that love from everyone around me.”
The win also provides encouragement for coach Gareth Southgate, who has faced the most troubled period of his England tenure over the last year.
Hundreds of fans missed the start of Monday's match because of an issue with digital tickets. When they eventually made their way to their seats, they witnessed a dominant display from England.
Jude Bellingham's first international goal opened the scoring in the 35th minute.
Saka then got his first of the match in the 43rd and Raheem Sterling added another in firsthalf stoppage time. Saka scored his second shortly after the hour, but Mehdi Taremi pulled one back for Iran in the 65th minute.
Rashford struck six minutes later to extend England's lead to 5-1, and Jack Grealish also stepped off the bench to score a sixth in the 90th. Taremi added another for Iran from the penalty spot deep in stoppage time.
Netherlands tops Senegal
Coach Louis van Gaal's gambles at both ends of the field paid off for the Netherlands.
Up front, Memphis Depay returned from injury as a second-half substitute to help spark the Dutch attack into life as the Netherlands scored two late goals to beat Senegal 2-0.
At the back, Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert pulled off three key saves to keep the African champions at bay after Van Gaal decided to give him his international debut in a World Cup game.
Cody Gakpo and substitute Davy Klaasen provided the late goals to ensure the Dutch team's winning start at its first World Cup appearance since 2014.
FIFA stops armband protest
FIFA'S threat of onfield punishment for players pushed World Cup teams to back down Monday and abandon a plan for their captains to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar's human rights record.
Hours before the first players with the armbands in support of the “One Love” campaign were to take the field, soccer's governing body warned they would immediately be shown yellow cards — two of which lead to a player's expulsion from that game and also the next.
That changed the calculus for the seven European teams, which may have expected merely to be fined. The displays are a violation of FIFA rules.
No player had the “One Love” armbands Monday, although England's Harry Kane wore the Fifa-approved “No Discrimination” armband offered as a compromise in the match with Iran.