If winning Group B at the World Cup comes down to goal difference, England already has it in the bag after its extremely impressive 6-2 opening victory over an Iran side in disharmony.
Kick-off at Khalifa International Stadium was scheduled for 1 p.m. in the UK, but obviously that didn't stop England supporters from getting rowdy as hell on a Monday afternoon.
FIFA’s concussion protocol is still Medieval and that was on full display during the first half of England’s opener vs. Iran on Monday. Iran’s goalkeeper, Alireza Beiranvand, had a nasty clash of heads with teammate Majid Hosseini in the eighth minute.
Here was the incident that took place.
England is already knocking pic.twitter.com/Y9t5lfHMi6
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is underway with Ecuador handling the supremely limited host nation Qatar 2-0 without surrendering a shot on target. It was a pathetic display from Qatar, but their tournament will thankfully be over quickly Friday after Senegal once again hands them a deserved beating.
So what did we learn from Sunday's curtain raiser besides the fact that Morgan Freeman has added a couple million to his bank account?
DOHA - Chaotic scenes broke out inside and outside the fan festival at Al Bidda Park in Doha on Sunday an hour before the kick off of the opening World Cup match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador after organizers allowed too many fans to flood the precinct.
The venue has a capacity of 40,000 but at least double that number of people tried to make their way in and for a long time many were let into a holding area between the main festival park and the perimeter entrance.
Police realized the problem and had to shepherd irate supporters back out of the venue.
Following is a list of players who have been ruled out or are doubtful for the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 World Cup through injury.
PAUL POGBA (FRANCE)
Pogba injured his knee in pre-season and went under the knife in September to repair a damaged meniscus. The 29-year-old resumed training but on Oct. 31 his agent said the midfielder would not return to action for Juventus nor the world champions before the World Cup.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar - FIFA President Gianni Infantino raised eyebrows on Saturday when he attempted to show empathy with marginalized groups by telling reporters in Qatar "I feel gay ... I feel like a migrant worker."
Infantino opened the traditional pre-World Cup news conference on Saturday with a lengthy monologue lambasting the critics of Qatar hosting the tournament because of the country's human rights record.
The 2022 World Cup is here and the field of 32 teams is set. Several World Cup regulars will be missing the big tournament this year. Here are some of the best teams not in World Cup 2022 that will be missed.
This list will go by region and is based on if the team has had previous World Cup appearances. The list also includes the country's FIFA ranking in the parentheses.
World Cup stadiums are prohibited from selling alcohol in Qatar, FIFA announced on Friday two days before the tournament begins.
The reversal permits World Cup sites to sell only non-alcoholic beverages, which represents a reversal of an agreement that approved international sponsor Budweiser to sell at all events.
Budweiser a FIFA sponsor for over 30 years which pays the organization more than $100M per World Cup cycle won’t be allowed to serve you beer in or around the stadiums here in Qatar.
Here's what you need to know about the opening ceremony that will take place ahead of the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 World Cup in Qatar, including what time is the World Cup opening ceremony, who's performing and where.
* The opening ceremony of the World Cup will take place on Nov. 20, ahead of the opening Group A match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.
* The opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. ET on FS1 and Telemundo.
To prepare you for the tournament, The18 has launched team-by-team previews for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This is for Group H's South Korea.
World Cup appearances: 11th
Best finish: Fourth place (2002)
How they got here: South Korea achieved automatic qualification by finishing second in AFC Group A behind Iran.