Qatar 2022: Betting tips & odds for England vs Iran

England are back on the biggest football stage in the world after a fourth-place finish in 2018. Gareth Southgate’s side will look to get off to a good start, but they have the Iranian obstacle in front of them.

After a group stage exit in 2018, Iran will hope to advance to the round of 16 for the first time in their history. Lead by Portuguese manager, Carlos Queiroz, the Iranians have always proven to be a hard nut to crack for top teams in the last few years.

*These odds were culled from Bet9ja (the odds were correct as at time of posting)

Betting code: 33XNXD9

Iran have been a difficult opponent for teams in the last two world cup campaigns. Team Melli have not conceded more than one goal in their last five World Cup games. This feat is laudable given that they have played against a Lionel Messi-led Argentina and a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal in this period. Given that the Three Lions of England have not been in great form recently, we expect them to struggle to score against a tightly-knitted Iran side.

Betting code: 33XPHGT

Just as we do not expect England to score two goals in this game, we do not expect to get three goals in this game as well. This is largely due to how both teams have struggled in front of goal, coupled with Iran’s tendency to “park the bus” effectively against top teams. There has been under 2.5 goals in eight of the last nine games involving Iran.

Betting code: 33XPM7Y

England are the stronger of both teams, but Iran are no pushovers. We expect this game to be a tight one and in the event that one team wins, it will likely be by a one-goal margin. Giving Iran a two-goal advantage going into this game is good value at 1.66 odds.