Bukayo Saka grabbed a brace for England as Gareth Southgate’s side opened their World Cup campaign with an emphatic 6-2 win over Iran.
Carrying his fine form for Arsenal onto the global stage, the winger arrowed home off the bar to double his country’s lead in the 43rd minute. He later showed beautiful composure just past the hour mark to work his way onto his left foot before curling home.
What a strike, @BukayoSaka87! 🏴#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/mLL8ZO84A6
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 21, 2022
Opta later revealed Saka (21 years, 77 days) is the youngest player to score 2+ goals in his first World Cup game since Franz Beckenbauer in 1966 (20 years, 304 days).
Jude Bellingham had broken the deadlock eight minutes before Saka’s first strike, Raheem Sterling netted the third before half time and substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish added a late gloss to proceedings.
Iran reduced the arrears thanks to two goals by Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, a player who has been linked with the Gunners in the past.
It’s not about then, it’s all about now. 💪
Delight in Doha for Bukayo Saka, today’s @Budweiser Player of the Match as voted by you! #POTM #YoursToTake #Budweiser @budfootball pic.twitter.com/9dScTqbhdb
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 21, 2022
After the match, Saka, who was voted player of the match, was in a jubilant mood.
“I can’t describe the feeling, I’m so happy, I’m so proud. We got the win as well so it’s just a really, really special day,” he told the BBC.
“We needed that good start, we didn’t play our best coming into this tournament so there was a lot of talk and speculation about our form but we showed everyone today how much quality we have and what we can do.
“It’s amazing to get the win. We know we have to be consistent because we have the next game coming up in a few days and we have to win again.
“I feel like I’m in a good place, I have the support of the fans, I feel the love of the fans, and from the coaching staff and from my teammates. That’s all I need. I feel good, I’m ready to give 100 per cent. I gave that today and I’ll continue to that every time I put the shirt on.”
Every goal this lad scores in Qatar is gonna add £10kpw to that contract and he deserves every penny
Let’s hope he scores lots more and signs it asap upon return.
175k/week should be fine.
You would have thought so but that depends, to an extent, upon which other clubs are interested in him (and there will certainly be other clubs monitoring his contract position closely). If he’s got a good agent, he’ll use that interest to get the best possible deal from Arsenal.
You could round it up to 200k.😄
Well done Saka. So much for those “experts” who doubted he should be in the World Cup squad. Let’s hope we can get him signed up quickly upon his return from the competition.
Let’s see if those same experts actually start to properly analyse and give the player the kind of credit his quality deserves, rather than limiting their praise to “he’s the man in form at the moment.” 😒
Which annoyingly seems to be a trend with a few Arsenal players this season (thinking of Benny Blanco in particular)
I’m not sorry.
Anyone who thinks our Saka isn’t deserving of a place in any international team right now needs to get their head checked…
Who are these experts? I’ve never heard anybody say that
Bit bemused by that one myself. I haven’t heard a single comment suggesting he shouldn’t be in the squad?
We are creating a narrative. It’s irrelevant whether true or not. Don’t question and go with it. Those bastard experts saying he’s not good enough to be in squad, may they all rot in hell. 🤣
Slip of the keyboard – should have written “team” not “squad”.
These are “experts” on twitterphere.😄
Same. The only thing I’ve heard is that Foden should start ahead of Saka on the right, which is its own nonsense tbf. Saka is easily England’s best right wing option. But I haven’t heard anyone suggest he shouldn’t be in this WC squad at all, that would be madness.
Should have said “team” not “squad”. John Barnes didn’t mention him in his line-up, for example.
Star boy💪❤❤❤
Bukayo Saka is everything that every young player should aspire to be So proud of that kid !
The wife doesn’t have any interest in footie but even she loves Saka, just a humble lad with enormous talent, I’d love to see him a Ben white link up on that side of the pitch
I’d say every young man, not just footballers. I’d be happy if my daughter brought home a young man like Bukayo
Totally agree ! I like him that much he could come to my house drink all my coffee eat all my sausages & I’d even let him take my Jack Russell out for a walk !!! Just love the lad He’s like the antidote to a currently shit world !
Well done Saka and congratulations!
But still:
Fuck FIFA
Fuck Infantino
Fuck Qatar and their bribes
Fuck Iran and it’s murderous regime
and
Fuck this World Cup!
No arguments, mate–you’ve capture the whole of it…apart from perhaps Fuck the FAs for capitulating so easily and quickly.
What we need is England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Portugal, Argentina and Brazil to pull out of FIFA. If they did that the whole rotten organisation would collapse as everyone else would follow. Qatar, Russia and Belarus can stay.
Completely spineless, cave in at the first hurdle. How long before the suspect refereeing enters the picture. Corrupt to the core, feel sorry for the players
I don’t agree with you.
Listen, this whole World Cup is as rotten as a turd-soaked putrid rat in an open sewer, but let’s be happy for the young players: this is their dream. Saka will never forget scoring two goals for England in the World Cup.
And who knows how far we’ll go in this competition? This is what footballer’s dreams are made of.
Good luck to him and all the other Arsenal players.
Agreed. There’s no need for England (or any other footballing nation for that matter) to deliberately disassociate themselves from the biggest football tournament of the lot, just because FIFA are currently run by corrupt morons. Cutting off your nose to spite your face hurts only one person. If political monsters like Adolf Hitler can eventually be defeated, then so can Sports Hierarchical fraudsters like Sepp Blatter. Lies can be exposed, wrongs made public, shame universally bestowed. If any actual good can come of these finals (apart from an England victory from a Saka hat Rick in the final – hurrah!)… Read more »
Not the point I’m making but since it’s you…well it’s just you.
I think he meant to say “I don’t disagree with you”. That’s the only way that makes any sense to me.
Fats moves in mysterious ways, or maybe his spelling does. We may or may not ever know.
Fats has the worst takes in the comment section.
At least he doesn’t baa like a sheep.
sounds like you’ve disagreed with him by agreeing with everything in reverse order
Fuck Iran but well done to their players, not singing the national anthem and showing solidarity with the protestors.
Impossible to disagree with your sentiments. But at the end of the day the players had no say in FIFA’s leadership or the regimes of certain nations either participating or hosting. It’s fulfilling a lot of their dreams to represent their countries at a World Cup, and I think as fans we’ve got to compartmentalise the considerable wider social issues and the matches themselves.
Take it easy, Bro.
Saka is a better player than Foden
I don’t even know who Foden is…
So pleased for this guy and, as an Englishman, extremely proud of him. 🏴
And as for those cunts – sorry, there’s simply no other word for them – who gave him so much abuse and racial hatred (because he doesn’t play for the sad pathetic club side that they support) can go and fuck themselves.
And when Arsenal and Saka go on to win the Premiership title, they can go and fuck themselves again.
And the Spud who downvoted this – you can go and fuck yourself as well my old son. 🖕
World star boy
That Beckenbauer stat sums it all up to me…. we are blessed to have a generational talent within our ranks, long may it continue!! COYG!!
Shame on those racist pigs that targeted Saka and Rashford for missing their penalty kicks during the Euros. What do they say today?
Sadly I doubt they’re any less racist as generally being racist and having the ability to learn, reflect or have any kind of self-awareness don’t tend to be traits that go together.
I di notice that only three of England’s starters were Black today (not claiming Southgate or anyone else was doing anything wrong). Those were Sancho, Saka, and Sterling–who scored the first three goals.
Sancho?
Just wrong on so many levels starting with its invalidity (Jude Bellingham, Kevin Trippier; and Sancho didn’t even start) and then of course the pointlessness of the comment.
So proud of our boy
Good for him, and shame on the FA for rolling over like cowards over the “threat” of Harry Kane “getting a yellow card.” Wankers.
Feels like a massive missed opportunity for the associations to stand their ground against FIFA together.
The FA is better at missing chances than Timo Werner in a Chelsea shirt.
Or Alvaro Morata in any shirt.
Today I feel… proud to be a Gooner 💛
I get you but there’s not a day goes by when I’m not proud to be a gooner. Growing up in Highbury I was truly blessed.
I’m so proud of you too. No penalties this time around. They don’t deserve you.
#JudeBellinghamtoArsenalJan23
Hey guys
Totally off-topic: Where best to buy tickets for a game in the Emirates? I’m a Arsenal Member but tickets still seem rare. There are loads of other possibilities but some of them seem like a total rip-off. My dad really wants to attend a game and I’d like to gift him this opportunitity (we’re from the Continent). Just wondered if you guys could help a fellow gooner out. Thanks!
I don’t know if it’s the same over there, but here in America there are some tickets allocated to the Arsenal America group and even some given to smaller fan groups like those in specific cities. These are becoming harder to get too because of the higher demand since we’re playing so well, but may be worth checking out if there’s something like this in your country/city!