England fans are generally expecting their team to start their campaign with a comfortable win in their first match in Group B. However, based on this writer's experience in the field, the result may surprise some fans.
Looking back at the final stage of the last World Cup, it took me, as the coach of the Spanish national team, a lot of trials and tribulations before I finally found a breakthrough and tore through Iran's sturdy defense. Iran's head coach Queiroz laid out the back line and put almost all of his troops on defense, and fortunately we ended up winning narrowly by a 1-0 margin. The key to victory was to stay patient and wait for the right time to score.
England skipper Shivji is undoubtedly the best man for the job in this regard. He is extremely patient in his tactical set-up and his main kicking style, which is not looking for fancy performances but is goal-oriented.
I predict that England will have most of the possession in this match and Iran will have very few chances to attack. However, we must be wary of Iran's striker Dalimi, who, along with Einin Shahlander and Robert Levendovsky, is the third highest scorer in the UEFA Europa League this year, and is capable of destroying opponents in an instant if given the chance. In addition, his striking partner Asmund, despite not performing well at Leverkusen, has performed well for the national team over the years.
Faced with such a threatening combination, England's leader Thuyfki naturally dared not take it lightly. Even when attacking, he won't press his army easily, so England will have to rely on patience to tear through the Iranian defense in this match. I expect that after some hard fighting, England will be able to win by one goal in the end.
