England manager Gareth Southgate admitted he was unimpressed his team conceded two second-half goals in the 6-2 win over Iran in the World Cup on Monday, but said he was happy with the overall performance.
The Three Lions got off to a fast start in their opening game and went into the break 3-0 up thanks to goals from Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling.
They scored three more in the second half but also let in two goals as the game opened up, as well as suffering a couple of injury scares.
And speaking afterwards Southgate said he rued the late mistakes.
“I’m a bit fed up with the end of it, really,” he told the BBC after the game.
“[But] to win by that margin and to play like we did for the majority of the game you have to be happy.
“The first half was sticky with lots of stoppages but our pressing and movement was really good. We shouldn’t be conceding two goals at that stage of the game so we will have to be right on our game against the States [on Friday].
“We’ll have to be better. We had 24 minutes of added time across the game. The mistakes were a consequence of the scoreline so it’s a long time to focus and we lost concentration. When we play at a slower tempo, we’re nowhere near as effective.
“We’ve got some good players and today they really delivered. Our attacking players looked a threat throughout the game. The midfield was excellent and the forwards looked a threat. It was a great marker to put down.”
England will now face the USA on Friday before playing Wales next Tuesday in their final group game.
