Gareth Southgate has warned his England players they must perform better despite thrashing Iran 6-2 in their opening game at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
It was a dominant display by the Three Lions which included five different scorers, but they conceded sloppy consolation goals in the second half.
At 4-0, Mehdi Taremi got behind England’s defence to score for Iran before netting his second from the penalty spot, after John Stones committed a foul in the final minute of the game.
Southgate said: “I’ve got to be very happy but we shouldn’t be conceding two goals at that stage of the game.
“We will have to be right on our game against the [United] States. It’s a great start, but we have to be better.”
When asked what he puts it down to, Southgate quickly acknowledged the long stoppages which were caused by injuries to Alireza Beiranvand and Harry Maguire either side of the break.
“We had 24 minutes of added time across the game,” he told the BBC. “So it’s a long time to focus but we just lost concentration and when we play at a slower tempo, we’re not anywhere near as effective.”
His thoughts were echoed by right-back Kieran Trippier, who said: “We’re on the same page, we all are.
“It was a good three points of course but those moments in the game where we know we can improve.
“Myself as well when I gave the ball away a couple of times, but we’ve got to enjoy the three points and look forward to the next.”
England next play on Friday night against USA, before their final fixture of the group against neighbours Wales next Tuesday.
