England and Netherlands Start World Cup With Wins; Team USA Picks Up a Point in Draw

The World Cup is officially underway, with England and the Netherlands picking up wins on Monday in Group Stage. Despite an early lead for the USA, they settled for a 1-1 draw against Wales.

England v. Iran

England played their opening game of the World Cup and picked up a 6-2 win over Iran. The game was scoreless up until the 35th minute when Jude Bellingham opened the scoring. Bukayo Saka scored his first of two goals in the game to double England’s lead to 2-0, and then Raheem Sterling made it 3-0 right before halftime.

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1594688483859251201?s=20&t=mwdClvFlwddZrHtkRbTLmw

Saka’s second goal came in the 62 minute, but Iran responded with a goal to cut the deficit to three. However, England scored two more goals and came away with the win, 6-2. Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish scored for England, while Taremi added his second goal of the game. 

Netherlands v. Senegal

The second game of the day featured Netherlands and Senegal. Cody Gapko and Davy Klaassen recorded goals. Andries Noppert had a clean sheet, making four saves in the match. The match ended in a shutout, 2-0.

USA vs. Wales

Team USA and Wales were the third game of the day. While Christian Pulisic set up Timothy Weah for a goal in the first half, Wales was awarded a penalty kick and capitalized in the 82nd minute, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

https://twitter.com/TeamUSA/status/1594798302230454272?s=20&t=mwdClvFlwddZrHtkRbTLmw

Goaltender Matt Turner made two saves in the game for the USA. Wales outshot Team USA 7-6 in the match, which featured six yellow cards, four for the US. However, it did have five corners but could not capitalize and sits two points back of England and the Netherlands after Day 2 of the World Cup. 

Next Up

Next, Team USA is set to play England on Friday, Nov. 25. Wales and Iran will also play, while the Netherlands will be playing Ecuador, and Senegal will face Qatar.