Iran national football team faced England in FIFA World Cup 2026. Iranian players did not sing national anthem. This is the first time that not even one of the Iranian national football team players sang the national anthem. Carlos Queiroz, Iran national team coach, told BBC Sport: We have serious expectations and do not need fans or media to tell us this. We tell our players every morning to defeat themselves, to be better than yesterday. The controversy surrounding the Iran-England match is not limited to the Iranian protests with the slogans 'Woman, Life, Freedom'. The issue of the English national team captain's armband has also become an important topic in this competition. The captain of the English team and several other European teams, including Wales, had announced that they would take to the field in the World Cup with the famous 'One Love' armband. This armband is in the shape of a rainbow flag supporting LGBTQ+ rights, and the 'One Love' slogan is a reference to supporting various sexual and gender orientations. The lineup of the English national football team against Iran was announced: Jordan Pickford, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Kieran Trippier, Declan Rice, Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, and Raheem Sterling. Gareth Southgate has chosen a 1-3-2-4 formation for today's match.