Entrance ceremony for England vs Iran match.

Photo by Chinanews reporter Bian Liqun

　　China News Service, Doha, November 21 (Reporter Bian Liqun and Wang Xi) On the second match day of the World Cup, the subway specially built by Qatar for the World Cup finally fully reflected its significance.

　　The deserted scene in the carriage was gone, replaced by Iranian fans singing all the way.

　　A design of the Qatar subway is very interesting. Whenever the train travels to the subway station near the stadium, the station announcement system will add a whistle.

　　For Iranian fans, this is not the opening whistle, but the clarion call for a new wave.

　　Sing from the car to the subway passage, then sing to the exit, and head to the entrance of the stadium.

The singing of the Iranian fans was neat and powerful, just like the Iranian team's usual style of play - solid and airtight defense.

Khalifa International Stadium.

Photo by Chinanews.com reporter Bian Liqun

　　However, in the game against England, the Iranian team seemed to be inconsistent with their style of play.

Conceded 3 goals in the first half alone and another 3 goals in the second half.

　　You know, throughout the top 12 stage of the Asian World Preliminaries, the Iranian team only conceded 4 goals in 10 games.

In the last World Cup, Iran only conceded 2 goals in the group stage, and they fell into the "group of death" where Spain and Portugal were.

The Iranian team gathered together after the game.

Photo by Chinanews.com reporter Bian Liqun

　　It is undeniable that Iran's luck in this game was not good enough. The goalkeeper's sudden injury disrupted the already good rhythm, and also injected instability into the team's last hurdle.

　　Excluding the more than 10 minutes of treatment by the goalkeeper, in the effective 20 minutes after the start of the game, the England team did not find a good way to attack, not even a threatening shot.

　　After the game was interrupted for a long time, the situation on the field changed. England scored 3 goals in 10 minutes, and the Iranian team was beaten and collapsed...

Bellingham celebrates scoring.

　　In the Asian arena, this scene often appears on Iran's opponents.

However, when it comes to the World Cup, the gap between the "ceiling" of Asian football and the world's top teams is really emotional and helpless.

　　The same is true for Qatar and Ecuador's World Cup opener. If the latter hadn't been merciful as a guest, the final result might have been as embarrassing as the Iranian team.

　　But considering the nature of the opening game and being the first host to lose the opening game, Qatar's embarrassment does not seem to be any better than that of the Iranian team.

　　In the first two days of the game, two Asian teams lost in this way one after another, which was a little unexpected.

After all, Qatar is the champion of the Asian Cup, while Iran ranks first in Asia and 20th in the world.

　　So what about the Saudi, Japanese, and South Korean teams that will be playing later?

Non-alcoholic beer at the World Cup stadium.

Photo by Chinanews reporter Bian Liqun

　　Before the match between Iran and England, my colleagues and I checked in the non-alcoholic beer at the World Cup Stadium in Qatar. A cup costs 30 riyals, which is nearly 60 yuan in RMB.

　　Beer alone is indeed not cheap, but since the cups containing beer are made of plastic and can be kept as souvenirs, the price is barely acceptable.

I also use this cup of "special" beer for the World Cup to soothe the sad Asian football...

　　Maybe years later, when I see this beer mug somewhere, I will recall the time when I witnessed 8 goals in the World Cup on a Qatari afternoon, even if this time was a bit mixed.

(Finish)