England will be hoping to start their 2022 World Cup with a win, as they take on Iran on Monday lunchtime.
Gareth Southgate's side are favourites against Carlos Queiroz's Iran side on Monday, in what will be their opening match of the 2022 World Cup. But after suffering defeats against Italy and Hungary in recent games, the Three Lions will have to put their recent poor form behind them if they want to secure a positive result.
The Khalifa International Stadium will host the first-ever match between England and Iran, and England's opponents will be sweating over the fitness of star player Sardar Azmoun of Bayer Leverkusen, who hasn't played since October due to a hamstring injury.
Southgate has a few injury issues to contend with too, with Kyle Walker and James Maddison set to miss out through injury on Monday. So, what will the final score be between England and Iran? We simulated the match to find out.
We simulated England vs Iran to get a score prediction
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions. We didn't select a team to control, with the World Class AI playing against each other to get a score prediction.
We predict that England could line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Pickford: Stones, Dier, Maguire; Trippier, Bellingham, Rice, Shaw; Saka, Kane, Foden.
We predict that Iran could set up in a 4-5-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Beyranvand; Moharrami, Kanaani, Khalilzadeh, Hajisafi; Jahanbakhsh, Noorollahi, Ezatolahi, Amiri, Taremi; Azmoun.
England got off to an awful start in their World Cup opener, with Iran taking the lead after just six minutes when Sardar Azmoun netted the opener from close range. England had barely got going, but 20 minutes later, the Three Lions had found their rhythm and were 2-1 ahead.
Just nine minutes after Iran took the lead, Harry Kane levelled the score from the penalty spot after Phil Foden was pulled back inside the area, blasting his effort down the middle to make it 1-1. The second goal consisted of much more quality, with Kane the provider as Bukayo Saka grabbed England's second.
The winger cut in from the right, and the Arsenal man played a smart one-two with Kane to burst into the box. As the ball rolled into Saka's path, he fired his effort first time past the 'keeper at his near post to put the Three Lions ahead.
Jude Bellingham made it 3-1 to England in the 37th minute when he scored a fantastic diving header to send Kieran Trippier's low cross into the net, but Trippier was sent off moments after as he was judged to have denied a goal-scoring opportunity in the box. Azmoun netted from the spot to make it 3-2, but it only took England minutes to double the lead again in the second half as Kane grabbed the fourth.
Declan Rice was pivotal for the goal, with the midfielder intercepting the ball on the halfway line before surging forward to create a dangerous attack. With three options ahead, Rice threaded a fantastic through ball to Kane, and the striker took the ball in his stride before blasting his shot across goal and into the net.
Just as 10-man England looked to take the game away from Iran, Azmoun popped up to grab his and Team Melli's third, capitalising on a spill from Jordan Pickford to prod home. The Three Lions continued to push forward despite conceding again, and Southgate's side confirmed the victory in the 88th minute when Mason Mount rifled home.
Kane received the ball inside the box with his back to goal, and the striker did well to hold the ball up and wait for support. Mount ghosted into the area unmarked to receive the pass, and the substitute arrowed his strike into the top corner to seal victory in England's opening game.
FIFA 23 predicted score: England 5-3 Iran
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that Iran could prove a tougher test than expected for England on Monday, but Southgate's firepower in attack proved too much as the Three Lions won 5-3. England looked shaky at the back in the simulation whilst Azmoun scored a hat trick for Iran, a threat the Three Lions will need to be wary of in the real game.
FIFA 23 is developed by EA Vancouver and EA Romania and is now available worldwide on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, PS4, and Xbox One.
