Cape Town — Welcome to day 2 of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar. IOL Sport will bring you all the live updates on match days from the biggest sports event on the planet!
FULL TIME: United States 1, Wales 1
Gareth Bale scored a late penalty to cancel out Tim Weah’s first half goal as the teams played to a 1-all draw at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al-Rayyan on Monday.
TEAMS FOR UNITED STATES V WALES ARE OUT!
United States: Matt Turner, Sergino Dest, Walker Zimmerman, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, Tim Weah, Josh Sargent.
Wales: Wayne Hennessey, Neco Williams, Ben Davies, Chris Mepham, Joe Rodon, Harry Wilson, Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale, Connor Roberts, Ethan Ampadu, Dan James.
Here's how #USA and #WAL will line up today!#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 21, 2022
FULLTIME! Senegal 0 Netherlands 2
The Netherlands scored two second-half goals to down Senegal. It was a bit of a horror show for the African champions’ goalkeeper Eduard Mendy, who was responsible for both Dutch goals.
A winning start for the Netherlands! 🍊@adidasfootball | #FIFAWorldCup
HALFTIME ... Senegal 0 Netherlands 0
It’s a very competitive game with a lot of quality, however both teams have lacked a bit of cutting edge in the final third of the field.
⏸️ Both sides look threatening as they head in for the break.#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 21, 2022
IT’S TIME FOR AFRICA
African champions Senegal begin their World Cup campaign when they take on the Netherlands.
Senegal (4-3-3): Edouard Mendy; Youssouf Sabaly, Kalidou Koulibaly (capt), Pape Abou Cisse, Abdou Diallo; Idrissa Gana Gueye, Nampalys Mendy, Cheikhou Kouyate; Krepin Diatta, Boulaye Dia, Ismaila Sarr
Coach: Aliou Cisse
🚨 Team news from #SEN and #NED! #FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 21, 2022
Netherlands (3-4-1-2): Andries Noppert; Matthijs de Ligt, Virgil van Dijk (capt), Nathan Ake; Denzel Dumfries, Steven Berghuis, Frenkie de Jong, Daley Blind; Cody Gakpo; Steven Bergwijn, Vincent Janssen
Coach: Louis van Gaal
FULL TIME: England 6, Iran 2
After going into the break 3-0 up goals from Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling, Gareth Southgate’s England added another three in the second half with Saka scoring a second, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish.
Mehdi Teremi scored Iran’s goals, the second via the penalty spot.
16:00 — Iran team do not sing national anthem before first World Cup game
Iran's players did not sing their national anthem before their first game of the Qatar World Cup against England on Monday, in apparent support for anti-government protesters in their homeland.
HALF TIME: England 3, Iran 0
England take a 3-0 lead into the break after first half goals by Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Raheen Sterling.
TEAMS FOR ENGLAND V IRAN
📋 The starting XIs from #ENG and #IRN are in!#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 21, 2022
NO LOVE FROM FIFA FOR ‘ONE LOVE’ ARM BANDS
Looks like England captain Harry Kane and co will not be wearing the ‘One Love’ arm bands in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community ...
England, Germany and five other European teams at the World Cup on Monday abandoned plans to wear a rainbow-themed armband in support of LGBTQ rights, citing the threat of disciplinary action from Fifa. ...
TODAY’S ACTION!
1pm: England v Iran - Group B
On Monday, all eyes will be on England who have failed to win the World Cup since 1966. The current squad are not hot favourites this time, but the players will give it their all in the country’s latest quest for major tournament glory.
Iran have little hope of victory when they run out for their World Cup 2022 opener at the Khalifa International Stadium. It will be their third appearance on the biggest stage, and they have little hope of finally progressing beyond the group stage.
England have made a habit of winning their opening match at the World Cup and failing to win the next as was the case in 1998, 2006 and 2018. Iran will be playing without fear knowing that the pressure is firmly off their shoulders.
Players to watch:
England: Harry Kane (striker), Jude Bellingham (midfielder), Declan Rice (midfielder)
Iran: Alireze Beiranvand (goalkeeper), Ehsan Hajsafi (left-back), Karim Ansarifard (midfielder)
Head-to-head record:
This will be the first time England and Iran will be played in any official game.
4pm: Senegal v Netherlands
The Netherlands and Senegal are expected to advance to the knock-out stages at the expense of Qatar and Ecuador in Group A. This could be the toughest group game for the two teams and neither Senegal nor the Netherlands will want to start their tournament in defeat.
Senegal has suffered a crushing blow after their world-class striker Sadio Mané was ruled out of the World Cup after a leg injury sustained in the run-up to the tournament.
Prior to Mané's withdrawal, confidence was high in the Senegal camp after they secured a first Africa Cup of Nations title at the start of the year.
The Dutch are the favourites in this group but they will take nothing for granted after disappointing Euro 2020 and failing to qualify for the two major tournaments prior to that.
Players to watch:
Netherlands: Virgil van Dijk (centre-back), Denzel Dumfries (right-wing back), Frenkie de Jong (midfielder)
Senegal: Edouard Mendy (goalkeeper), Kalidou Koulibaly (defender), Idrissa Gueye (midfielder)
Head-to-head record:
The two countries have never played each other, not even in a friendly.
9pm: USA v Wales
The outcome of this game will be crucial because England are the favourites to win the group and that means the rest of the teams will scramble for the remaining berth in the knock-out stages.
The US and Wales open their tournament with a critical match-up on the tournament's first full day and that is most unusual for such a vital match to be played this early in the tournament.
Both sides enter the tournament in worrying form. The US slogged through a pair of brutal pre-World Cup friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia in September that were deeply troubling, while Wales have suffered three straight Nations League defeats and have not won since the 1-0 victory over Ukraine that secured World Cup qualification.
Players to watch:
US: Sergino Dest (right-back), Weston McKennie (midfielder), Yunus Musah (midfielder)
Wales: Gareth Bale (forward), Daniel James (winger), Brennan Johnson (forward)
Head-to-head record:
US and Wales have played each other only twice, both in friendlies, with the US winning 2-0 in 2003 and the other game ending in a goalless draw in 2020.
Now our very own Bafana Bafana might now be at the World Cup ... but we figured let’s look back at just how good or bad (depends on your perspective) their previous World Cup performances have been.
And ... if for whatever reason you missed the opening game, here is the what went down. The hosts Qatar became the first ever host nation to loss their opening World Cup game.
Here’s our Live Blog from yesterday for all the opening day’s action.