Most people may assume England's World Cup opener against Iran will be a relatively routine one.
The Three Lions reached the semi-finals in 2018 before making it all the way to the final of last year's rearranged Euro 2020 tournament, and breezed through qualifying for Qatar 2022 with the best goal difference in the group stage of European qualifiers, scoring 39 and conceding only three.
Confidence will be high that Gareth Southgate's team can get going with three points, but a potentially tricky obstacle stands in their way on Monday.
Iran had an impressive qualifying campaign of their own, winning eight of 10 games in the third round of Asian qualifying and conceding just four goals.
They also sit 20th in the latest FIFA rankings, putting them above the likes of Serbia, Morocco and Poland.
Far from ideal as part of their preparations was a change of head coach just two months before the World Cup, with Dragan Skocic surprisingly removed and replaced by Carlos Queiroz to lead Team Melli in Qatar, shortly after he had guided Egypt to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
This will be Queiroz's fourth consecutive World Cup as a head coach – the longest ongoing run – and third in a row in charge of Iran after taking over for a second spell.
Iran lost 2-0 to Tunisia in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Wednesday, but Queiroz felt it allowed his team to be better prepared for England.
"Of course, the result is not good," he said. "We don't like to concede goals, we don't like to lose but [there are things] we need to correct.
"We had the best opportunities in the game before the penalty, we missed a few chances to score but the most important is the conclusions that we need to make in order to prepare for England."
Iran are one of 20 teams to have featured at each of the last two World Cups in 2014 and 2018 – of those teams, they have had the fewest shots (47), the fewest shots on target (10) and scored the fewest goals (3) in the group stages across those two tournaments combined.
Meanwhile, England's Eric Dier is not concerned about the high temperatures in Qatar despite the time of year, with the game kicking off at 4pm local time.
"I don't know what kind of impact it will have," he said at a press conference on Saturday. "I've never experienced it before, so it's going to be a first.
"This is normally a tournament which is played in the summer. In Russia [in 2018] it was hot. I wasn't there but during the Euros in England it was hot, so I think we're ready for that and we're playing in the same conditions as our opposition, so it's the same for everyone."
England are the only European team to have reached the semi-finals in each of the last two major tournaments, and will be hoping to start on course for another strong showing at the Khalifa International Stadium.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
England – Harry Kane
England's captain has understandably been integral to their last two runs in the World Cup and European Championship, winning the golden boot at the last FIFA showpiece in 2018, where five of his six goals in Russia came in the group stage.
Kane was also joint-top scorer in European qualifying for this World Cup (12, level with Memphis Depay), and his shot conversion rate of 36.36 per cent was the highest of any player who scored at least six goals.
Iran – Mehdi Taremi
The consensus seems to be that Sardar Azmoun will be the one for England to keep an eye on, which is fair enough given his 40 goals in 63 games for his country to date, though his lack of goals and game time at club level could cost him sharpness, having scored just once in 22 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen since joining in January.
On the other hand, his international strike partner Taremi has 13 goals in 19 games for Porto this season, including five in the Champions League.
Despite only playing six times, no Iran player was involved in more goals during the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying than Taremi (four goals, two assists).
PREDICTION
Despite Iran probably being stronger than many anticipate, England are still justifiably heavy favourites.
According to Stats Perform's AI model, the Three Lions have a 72.2 per cent chance of opening with a win, while the draw is rated at 18.1 per cent.
It would be a moment to remember should Iran pull off an upset, but Queiroz's men have just a 9.7 per cent chance of victory.
New York Red Bulls v Vancouver Whitecaps: Facing Eastern Conference teams ‘like going to the casino’
Vanni Sartini is anticipating a tight encounter when his Vancouver Whitecaps team face the New York Red Bulls.
Vancouver have enjoyed a fine start to the MLS season and sit second in the Western Conference.
The Red Bulls, meanwhile, are in second place in the East.
This game will be the first meeting of the teams since 2019, and Sartini joked that facing sides from a different Conference is akin to a trip to a casino.
He said: “It’s going to be hard. It’s like going to the casino when you play the Eastern teams – you never know!
“Maybe you’ll face the team in last, the team that’s in first place. Unfortunately this season we’re going to play the Red Bulls, who are doing very well.”
Explaining what he expects to see from the Red Bulls, Sartini added: “They’re a team with a very distinct and particular style of play, like we have, to be honest.
“We need to be very intense, because that’s what they are, they are very intense in pressing, counter-pressing, counter-attacks and we need to be very well organised. It’s a game that will be decided in the second half, it’s going to be tight until the end – that’s what I feel.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan
Morgan is enjoying a fine campaign, and he leads the Red Bulls’ scoring efforts with six goals in MLS.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
White joined the ‘Caps from the Red Bulls in 2021. He has scored four goals in MLS this season, making him Vancouver’s leading scorer.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN
Ryan Gauld and White have each contributed to at least one goal in their last five MLS appearances, equalling the longest streak in Whitecaps’ history. Prior to them, only three players in team history had recorded a goal contribution in five straight matches.
With 16 points through eight matches, the Whitecaps are off to the joint-best eight-match start in club history (also 2015). Vancouver have never had more than 17 points (2012) after nine matches of a season before.
The Red Bulls have lost only one of their first nine matches this season (W4 D4), the second time in club history they have had fewer than two losses at this stage of a season, along with their Supporters’ Shield winning 2015 campaign (also W4 D4 L1).
Six of the 12 all-time meetings between the Red Bulls and Whitecaps have been drawn (Whitecaps W4, Red Bulls W2), but New York are anticipated to win this one.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYRB – 48.9%
Vancouver Whitecaps – 23.3%
Draw – 27.8%
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
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