Monday World Cup Preview | England get their tournament underway with the Netherlands and Wales also featuring

Ecuador kicked things off with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over hosts Qatar on Sunday.

The 2022 World Cup is officially underway with an additional three games to look forward to today after Qatar and Ecuador raised the curtain on the first ever winter World Cup yesterday.

The hosts, Qatar, made history in the game but for all the wrong reasons as their 2-0 defeat was the first time in the competition’s history that the hosting nation lost their opening match. Former Everton and West Ham striker Enner Valencia bagged the two goals for Ecuador and could’ve sealed an opening day hat-trick but his first goal was rightfully ruled out by VAR.

Attentions turn elsewhere now with three games taking place today in Group A and Group B. England begin their 2022 quest against Iran, the Netherlands and Senegal go head-to-head while Wales will be competing in their first World Cup fixture in 64 years when they take on the USA.

England v Iran (KO 1pm)

Another major tournament brings another sense of belief to England and their faithful fans as they look to complete their first World Cup triumph since 1966.

The wound of their Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy would still be felt by the English players but the Three Lions will be poised to put that behind them and focus on making it to the same stage in Qatar.

Questions have been raised on how Gareth Southgate may line out his side for the opening game with regulars such as Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips out of form and an abundance of attacking talent that will be difficult to cram into a starting XI. Leicester’s James Maddison has been missing from recent training sessions potentially ruling him out of the opener.

Iran, on the other hand, are set to embark on their sixth World Cup tournament with 2022 being their third in consecutive years. They’re yet to reach a knockout stage in those years, despite coming close in 2018 with their group involving Portugal and Spain.

All statistics indicate an opening day victory for Southgate’s men but Iran still possess a threat with a handful of European players to choose from and they won’t be a push-over for the Three Lions

Netherlands v Senegal (KO 4pm)

Netherlands begin a World Cup campaign for the first time since 2014 since this evening as they face Senegal.

The same man that was in charge in 2014, Louis Van Gaal is back at the helm after time away from the national side and inherits a squad full of talent including Virgil Van Dijk, who’s surprisingly featuring in his first major international tournament at the age of 31.

Van Gaal’s men were third place back in 2014, with the likes of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie starring for the Netherlands in that tournament and they’ll be hoping 2022 can continue in the same vein.

Senegal are set to embark on their third World Cup, but will do so without their main man Sadio Mane who failed to recover from injury in time. The reigning champions of Africa still possess a lot of firepower throughout their squad but if they fail to make an impression this tournament, it’s evident as to why.

The Netherlands will be favourites to level Ecuador in the table but it will make an intriguing game nonetheless

Wales v USA (KO 7pm)

The final game of the day rounds off Group B as Wales take on the USA in their first World Cup game since 1958.

Despite lacking experience at the biggest stage, Wales still have a nous of major tournaments with their last two European Championship campaigns being relatively successful, especially in 2016.

Meanwhile, the USA missed out on their first World Cup tournament since 1986 in 2018 and have inherited a much younger side since their 2014 campaign. It will be the first World Cup for a large portion of the squad, including manager Gregg Berhalter so it will be interesting to see how they fare.

With both teams very evenly matched in terms of rankings, it looks likely it will be the same case on the pitch.